Battling Time Savers: Black Moon
by Pete the Rock
Summary: Summary: Sequel to "Battling Time Savers." Queen Beryl is revived and has her sights on New York City. Ash needs the help of new heroes to send the queen back to the grave.
1. Silence in the Big Apple

_Disclaimer: No ownership of Pokémon, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, Fairy Tail, RWBY, Gunsmith Cats, Naruto, Maburaho, Excel-Saga, Sailor Moon, Yu Yu Hakusho and one more anime in secret._

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_**Battling Time Savers: Black Moon**_

_Chapter 1: Silence in the Big Apple_

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Secrecy. A hall of black. Nothing visible. Where could this be? In the darkened place, a group walked through the empty space. All wore black cloaks from head to toe, their faces unseen throughout the blanket of darkness. Reaching a spot, the dozen cloaks broke and circled around the point of interest. "Present the artifacts," one ordered. Many items were placed in the center of everyone, the biggest being a crystal ball. "Present the blood." The cloaks reached their arms out, blood dripping from the hand. "Now, recite after me." The head began chanting a language that words wouldn't be able to follow. As they cited, lights formed from beneath each cloak. Lines beamed from one cloak to another, triangles formed and stars aligned. "Under the New Moon, come from the dead. Rise thine Queen!" A flash ruptured which lit the room. From the center, a redhead adult woman with long and pointy ears started rising from the light, a black tiara over the forehead. She wore a shoulder-less midnight violet gown that extended passed her feet. The darkened pale skin fit the thin figure while having long blood red fingernails. Once she finally emerged, the light faded from its obscurity. Red eyes opened from the new woman. "Our queen! How long it has been since your death!" The queen glared at the unknown person a little confused. Then a flash of memory. It showed a pigtailed blond teen girl in a white gown holding a wand in front before the vision blurred to white.

"Sailor Moon..." she muttered. "No... Princess Serenity... She killed me..." Her memories never left her despite her death. "Now that I'm back, I can start the takeover of Crystal Tokyo again." The leader of the revival cloaks had news to share to the resurrected queen.

"Crystal Tokyo is eternally protected without you at full power. However, all is not lost." The queen gawked at the information.

"What do you mean?"

"You were just resurrected. You need power to break through the barrier." The information seemed to sink in for the queen.

"Yes, I need sufficient power to overcome Sailor Moon and her scouts. May I suggest somewhere to obtain power?"

"But of course, Queen Beryl!" The cloak waived an arm out where a light emitted in front of everyone attending. From the light showed the Statue of Liberty facing a city full of lights and noise. "New York City, the population larger than Tokyo. The humans are still reeling emotionally from a terrorist attack on the infamous 9/11." How would she extract the energy from the city? Beryl seemed intrigued with the new setting.

"Fascinating. Their stirred emotions from this terrorist attack may indeed fuel my power." The hooded leader wasn't done with explanations.

"However, there are... four complications to this." The light shifted to a new scene focusing on a few characters. One boy was a raven-haired in a red baseball cap and blue sweat-tee. He had a yellow mouse with a jagged-shape tail and red cheeks while holding tonfa sticks. He swung punches, the tonfa sticks providing damage to demons. Another boy was a blond in a red trench-coat wielding a spear carving demons left and right. One girl was a purple-haired teen wore a green Japanese garb with purple baggy pants wielding a samurai sword. She sliced any enemy that faced her with blinding speed. The last was a pink-haired girl who has exceptional speed and stabbed any minion before punting them wearing a red pseudo Chinese dress and biker shorts. "Ash Ketchum, Edward Elric, Sakura Haruno, Rin Kamishiro... The Battling Time Savers and Honorary Spirit Detectives. They were responsible for the vanquishing of Jonau, a demon that tried to change the city but was foiled. Though mere children, they possess significant powers and should never be underestimated." Beryl scoffed to the mention.

"To underestimate these 'mere children,' we take no chances until it's too late. My powers are still dormant after years in the grave but I have what it takes to summon my generals... and I know which four to even the odds." She wove her hand out which had the other cloaks clear a space. From the ground, a light emerged and up appeared four adults wearing matching gray military uniforms. One was a short-haired blond man. One, a shaggy long-haired brunette man. The third man had straight long silver hair. The only woman that appeared was a ponytail blond. "Jadeite, Malachite, Neflite, Zoisite... your mission is to intercept these four children. Conquest to conquer Crystal Tokyo begins in New York City." Nodding, the four suddenly vanished. Beryl smirked, unaware that the lead cloak had a secret briefly exposed: a wing. The city viewed before remained bustling with lights and sounds from vehicles and humans walking around. Of course, not everything was child-friendly. Before long, people noticed a rapidly forming set of rainclouds gathering over. The mesmerized crowd couldn't help but look up. Just then, demonic creatures of various shapes and sizes rained down from the rainclouds instead of... well, rain and attacked the citizens. The blitzkrieg gave no one any chance to counter, not even the infamous NYPD stood a chance. In a span of minutes, the sleepless city became quiet. New York City was now a ghost town... until two figures showed up from the shoreline, the direction of where the Statue faced. It was the raven-haired boy and his mouse. The boy wore a black vest over a white t-shirt. They exited an alley to an empty street near Times Square.

"This isn't right, Pikachu," he muttered to his mouse. "New York's usually alive 24/7, right?"

("That's what it was the last time, Ash!") replied Pikachu. The boy continued down the streets with the mouse on his shoulder.

"Maybe we'll feel better when we find the others." The walk proceeded through the sidewalks in an area much too quiet for it to be a city that never sleeps. "Ed! Rin! Sakura!"

("Anybody there?") With no response, the pair grew weary about the rest who saved New York and the Spirit World. Unaware to either of them, a group of mutants of varying shapes found Ash as well as one of Beryl's generals. It was the blond man.

"So he's one of them," he studied. "He must have escaped from his dimension. No matter." His company rushed out and make their run at the two. Pikachu's ears perked up from the footsteps behind them. The mutants were fast approaching, one a bluish-gray man-shaped creature with white hair and a sash. The other was a skinny woman-like fiend wearing all black and sporting claws. The creatures leaped up with blades embedded in their arms. It did give Ash enough time to whip out his tonfa sticks. Just in time, he blocked the creature's attack. Fending it off, Ash spun and landed a spinning forearm across the throat. If only there was a blade, that would've sliced through its neck. Instead, it fell and clutched the injury. The other made its approach with a thorn whip. Ash spun again and fired another hook, this time catching the whip with the stick.

"Do it!" Pikachu fired electricity from its cheeks, zapping the whip just as Ash jumped away. After getting shocked, the creature was on its knees stunned, perhaps too stunned to react to Ash's rush. He nailed the creature with an uppercut, sticking the tonfa under the chin and blasting it to the dark sky. That fiend hit the concrete, head first. That one's out for the count but now the first came back to the fight, still reeling from the neck shot. Before that fiend could move, the general flew down to meet his adversary.

"You're skilled," he complimented. "No wonder my queen wants an audience with you." Ash glared at the man in uniform. What he said made his curiosity peak.

"I was told that this country was run by a democracy, whatever that is, not royalty." The uniformed blond didn't seem bothered by the explanation.

"Right now, that's not important. I am Jadeite, one of Queen Beryl's generals that seeks to bring you to see Queen Beryl for a little... assistance." Ash lifted his sticks for when Jadeite chose to strike.

"I'm a little busy right now trying to find my friends." To Jadeite's scoff, that wasn't an option.

"I'm afraid that's impossible. _My_ friends have gone to the other dimensions to capture yours. They're now attending my queen as we speak. It's best that you comply if you want to see them again." He pointed to behind Ash where the boy and mouse peeked. More fiends... Ash and Pikachu were cornered. Even with all the training in the world, Ash knew he couldn't fight all of them. He needed help. Unbeknown to anyone, a vintage blue muscle car decorated with thick dual-white stripes over the middle rolled up and a grenade was chucked in the crowd of fiends. KABOOM! The explosion blew the fiends and spread pieces or complete creatures from the center of the blast. Ash, Pikachu and Jadeite turned where one figure came running in with a weapon not immediately recognized until a lamp revealed a handgun. A raven-haired, dusty-colored-skinned young woman in a business suit, skirt and nylon stockings with half-inch black dress Mary Jane shoes lifted her weapon of choice at Jadeite.

"Kid, this way!" she yelled. Ash hesitated at the woman's demand, mainly due to her firearm. Realizing now that she came to help out, he darted after the woman and soon passed her with Jadeite swooping to cut him off. The woman's aim looked true as she fired rounds at Jadeite to stop him. The shots delayed the general enough for her to follow Ash. Both found the blue muscle car with a blond teenager wearing a pink flannel shirt and brown skirt and a chestnut brunette woman in a yellow business suit and slacks spotted the two... or three coming. "May, shotgun! Becky, back seat!" Responding, the brunette fixed the passenger seat and Ash and Pikachu jumped in before being joined by her as she replaced the chair. The blond got on the same adjusted seat as the raven-haired got behind the wheel. She started the engine and kicked down the pedal to peel away to the streets surprisingly empty. Jadeite's hunt just started. He flew, no wings necessary, above the car and aimed an energy ball.

"I will have him for my queen!" he roared as he threw the orb. The blond pulled a pin and tossed another grenade up after she leaned out the passenger window. The orb and grenade connect and both exploded in the air. Jadeite shielded his arms from the bright light and bought the driver the moment needed to escape. When the flash dimmed, the car vanished. Jadeite couldn't locate the vehicle. "Where are you?" He surrendered for now and disappeared to thin air. Meanwhile, the car found its way out of the city via the highway with Ash and the women breathing relief.

"I knew coming to New York was a bad idea, Rally," the brunette scolded. "But no! You came here on a phone call about a connection to a smuggling system related to Chicago!" The raven-haired groaned to the brunette's complaint.

"Look, how the hell was I supposed to know that New York would go Ghost Town by the time I found _him_?" argued Rally. "All I saw was that man in uniform flying and looking down at something or someone and just happen to find this kid about to get the mauling of his life." Ash bowed his head, the red baseball cap shielding his face.

"Maybe listening to the statewide lock-down warning issued a couple of days ago!" Even the blond grew frustrated to the brunette's complaining.

"Becky, take a chill pill," she mulled. "Besides, weren't _you _the one who gave us Intel about New York City hosting these connections?" Becky's cheeks puffed up in her anger despite the new evidence pointing back at her.

"Look, can't we just leave it at that and be thankful we're still standing in some sorts?" muttered Ash. Pikachu squeaked in agreement to its master.

"_You_ have no saying in our debate!" snapped Becky. Not to Rally's rolling eyes.

"Actually, he's right," she acknowledged. Becky gasped in dismay on Rally switching to Ash's side. "Though, if I was your mother, I'd scold you about fighting those... things back there." To Ash, he couldn't run from it if he had a way to escape.

"Like I had a choice," he pointed out. "I'm just trying to contemplate what that guy... Jadeite said when he needed his 'queen's' assistance." The blond turned to the information Ash mentioned, also taking stock of Pikachu.

"So that guy _was_ after you?" she asked. "Also, that's the biggest mouse I've seen. Not even sewer rats down in Dallas are that big." Pikachu squeaked a little while itching its head.

"Pikachu's my best friend and we've traveled together since we first met." This grew the blond's interest about the mouse.

"You don't mind if I hold him?" The answer came from Pikachu as it hopped from Ash's lap to the blond's for her to pet it.

"Okay, May, how do you think Ken will feel seeing you with that?" piqued the brunette.

"He won't mind at all." Now Ash seemed clued in about these three girls.

"Hold on..." he realized before pointing to the brunette. "Becky..." Now the blond. "May..." Lastly, the driver. "...And Rally?" Becky huffed a slight chuckle to Ash's study.

"So you _were _paying attention," she teased. "But yeah... I'm Rebecca Farrah..." Rally snorted to how Becky identified herself.

"Rebecca 'the Nose' Farrah," she reiterated. Becky growled at the labeled nickname Rally offered her.

"You want to start something, Rally?!" The driver snickered, knowing she got on her nerves.

"I'm 'Minnie' May Hopkins," May introduced herself. "I was the one who provided the grenade to bail you out of that messy situation." Pikachu cooed in amazement to how they were saved.

"Let's not forget Irene Vincent behind the wheel," Becky scowled. "The Gunsmith Cat from the Windy City." Now Rally growled, getting some payback.

"I prefer Rally, not Irene, Miss Nosy," she scorned. Becky didn't appreciate that retort.

"Yeah, Bulletproof Heart?" Those two never wanted to stay on the same page. "Now I believe..."

"...It's my turn, I gotcha," Ash huffed. "I'm Ash Ketchum. You could say that me and Pikachu are from a different plain of existence. Pikachu's a Pokémon and I'm his trainer." Pikachu's squeaks helped with the clarification.

"At least he's not as hasty as Bill was," May reminded, something Rally's face wanted to drop. As the car journeyed down the highway, they were tailed by a dark blue sports utility vehicle with its turning signals flashing. Rally spotted the blinking signals, another family escaping.

"Someone's a little tardy on the departure party," she groaned before Ash looked back and noticed. The driver was a ponytail cyan-haired woman in a yellow button-down shirt.

"Botan?" he named. Becky heard the name and thought it was a friend of his.

"Rally, signal that you're pulling over," she instructed. Rally tapped the brakes to flash the red lights of the rear before the right turn signal flipped on. The SUV driver also turned her right signal on and both vehicles rolled to the side on the gravel. Once stopped, Ash and Rally came out and so did the supposed Botan. The cyan-haired relaxed at the sight of the trainer.

"Thank goodness that I found you before they did," she gladly praised. If only that were true...

"No, they found me," he corrected. "I was just happy to have Rally save me from Jadeite." This bothered Botan.

"Well, at least there's that portion of luck. It does give us a shimmer of hope to save the others, let alone the worlds." From her words, Jadeite was telling no lies to Ash.

"So Ed, Rin and Sakura must be with Queen Beryl. That's gonna cripple this team." Confused, Rally came forward wanting some idea to this situation.

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" she broke up the talk. "I get that you two know each other but who are these other guys that you brought up?" Botan wondered if telling Rally about their union would help their fight against Beryl.

"Yes, an explanation is needed to clarify the issue of sorts," she addressed with hesitance. "If you follow me to a disclosed location by Prince Koenma and Lord Illpalazzo, they'll help explain all the ordeals behind the original four." Reluctant, Rally wasn't sure to take her word. Still, this was someone Ash knew. She had to put her trust in the girl.

"As long as you or this prince and lord don't pull any funny business, please lead on."

"Very well." Everyone got back to the vehicles and with the SUV in the lead, all traveled down the road. If Edward, Rin and Sakura were captured, all hopes laid in Ash's hands.

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TO BE CONTINUED...


	2. A New Alliances

_A/N: If you haven't noticed yet, I changed one of the animes from Girls Bravo to RWBY since I heard of Monty Oum's passing._

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_Chapter 2: A New Alliances_

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An old enemy resurrected... A warrior on his own... A crisis on the verge of fruition... Welcome to New York City. Botan, driving the SUV, led Rally, running the muscle car, to a disclosed area. Ash and Pikachu arrived in New York City after somehow finding themselves there and confronted Jadeite who told the two that Queen Beryl, revived by cloaked members, captured the rest of his team. Edward Elric, Rin Kamishiro and Sakura Haruno may be in trouble and Ash was forced to run. Now he's in the muscle car with Rally, May and Becky. "So, what's the story about you and those other three you and Botan talked about?" Rally questioned. "It sounds like this isn't your first rodeo." Though contemplated about his friends ending up with Beryl, Ash sensed no harm in addressing the past.

"Sometime ago, I was teamed up with those three after we were summoned by some unknown force," he started. "Edward Elric was an alchemist from the early 1900's who earned the title, Full Metal Alchemist, after his right arm and left leg were replaced with auto-mail. Rin Kamishiro was a student of Aoi Academy where magicians go and not only does she do magic, she's also a swordsman. Lastly, Sakura Haruno was a ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village with some impressive skills. We fought against demons who wanted to take over the world but we stopped them short." May looked back in awe while holding Pikachu. Becky? Not so much.

"Sound a lot like bull!" she scorned. "I'm finding it more believable with your rat than I do demons!" Pikachu squeaked angrily at Becky, feeling offended.

"Becky, if you saw what I bailed him out of before, _you're_ the one with the bull," Rally snapped back. Becky puffed her cheeks again from the retort. Rally focused back to Ash and his dilemma. "So now it's just you..." The SUV started flashing the red lights. To Rally, Boton found the spot to where the Illpalazzo and Koenma hid. Both vehicles pulled over and everyone exited their seats. The SUV parked by the "Mile Marker 14" sign.

"It's this way," spoke Boton as she closed the door and around her ride. May reached in the glove box and grabbed a flashlight. Pikachu hopped back on Ash's shoulder while Rally reached Botan's side.

"Need a light?" The immediate thought was a cigarette.

"I don't smoke, it's bad for-" That's when Rally offered her flashlight. Now Botan realized what "light" she meant. "_This_ light! Don't get me so confused."

"Yeah, my bad." With Botan leading and with the flashlight guiding the group, all they could look for is what Illpalazzo and Koenma had to offer.

"Okay, getting Intel about cargo of weapons docking on Manhattan shores is an excuse to get out of Chicago," Becky started complaining. "Sure, it may be a way to get away from Mister ATF but to suddenly find a kid and rat and bring them here to a secluded wooded terrain is too much to argue that I didn't even want to come on this trip in the first place!" Hearing the raucous rant, Rally turned around with a paining grit.

"Then why don't you wait in the Mustang if you didn't want to come?" she scolded.

"...And be attacked by those things that fought him?! I don't have a choice!"

"Then maybe I should fork over some more money to shut you up!" Becky gritted, trying to find a comeback. As they walked further in the woods...

"_Help me!"_ a voice rang in Ash's head, forcing him to stop and turn back.

"Did anyone hear something?" he wondered. All looked around, wondering if any sound echoed to their spot.

"Other than Becky's complaining, not really," May shook. Ash couldn't ignore that call. However, the voice had gone silent. He knew someone was in danger.

("You alright, Ash?") squeaked Pikachu. Ash didn't initially react to his mouse's concern.

"I swear I heard someone needing help," he believed. Regardless, he returned to walking with the rest. There was a small rock formation where four figures stood. One was a silver-haired man wearing a weird headpiece and circular glasses with yellow lenses. He wore a cape over a black military uniform over a sky blue cape. The other man was a brunette in a blue Chinese robe with "Jr" tattooed on his forehead. Two women stood as well. One was a strawberry redhead wearing a teal open jacket over a black blouse and matching teal shorts. The other woman was a blue-haired woman wearing a red/black spandex suit with a sewn-on skirt and violet leggings. Botan arrived to meet with this group of people.

"ACROSS, I've brought one of the members," she revealed. Ash and Pikachu spotted the group, not noticing the blue-haired right away.

"Very good, Botan," the brunette acknowledged. "This means we have a fighting chance. I'm sorry to summon you on short notice." Ash wasn't keen about the meeting.

"I'd say the feeling's mutual," he groaned as the other girls found the rest of the group. "Anyway, do you guys have information on Beryl?" The silver-haired turned his head and nodded to the brunette.

"What does the Spirit World have about the new threat, Prince?" he asked. Learning the brunette was the prince, May got excited about the supposed young heir.

"That young man is a prince?!" she screeched in glee. "If I still had my virginity, I'd want him to take it!" Rally slapped May on the head for her remark.

"TMI, May," she murmured with Becky giggling. "TMI." After gathering his thoughts, Koenma was ready to speak.

"Eons ago, a great war erupted on the moon between forces of light and darkness," he started. "The Moon Kingdom was light, governed by Queen Serenity. The Black Moon, obviously, imbued darkness and controlled by Queen Beryl. The Black Moon mercilessly attacked the kingdom for the queen's sacred treasure, the Silver Imperial Rainbow Crystal. Mortally wounded, Queen Serenity summoned the last of her strength to break the crystal in seven rainbow gems, scattering them to Earth. She also sealed her daughter, son-in-law and four other soldiers from the moon to Earth as a means to protect them from the Black Moon. Centuries later, Princess Serena, also known as Sailor Moon, gathered the crystals and destroyed Queen Beryl and her kingdom. Somehow, a cult around New York City brought forth Queen Beryl from death and her soldiers started the terrorizing of the city." The details were bad enough that Ash furrowed his brow.

"And to think, I met a general there," he recalled. "He called himself Jadeite." The silver-haired believed his finding.

"He is one of Queen Beryl's four general," he explained. "The others are Neflite, Malachite and Zoisite. These four are supportive of Beryl and will risk life and limb to protect her." The detail conceded a plan to Ash.

"Sounds straightforward but I can deal with a few generals." Not on Koenma's watch.

"That's not an option at this point," he refused. "Three reasons: we don't have a clue where Beryl is, your body is worn and in need of rest and besides, tackling Beryl head-on is suicide." Koenma understood Ash's anxiety to save Ed, Rin and Sakura but it wasn't in his nature to let Ash get himself killed for it.

"Then what am I supposed to do? Wait until Beryl is unstoppable?" This forced Rally to step up in defense for Ash.

"Look, I don't quite understand the situation going on," she scowled. "But if Ash can pull his own weight and fight these 'generals' attacking New York, May and I can help out and tackle this threat." Now the lord and prince gandered toward the raven-haired in the business suit and skirt. So did the strawberry blond.

"Hey, do you have any idea who you're talking to?!" she stammered as she rose a hand up. "This is Lord Illpalazzo, the leader of ACROSS who will one day take over New York City!" Ash and Rally gawked at the blond's exposure of the truth. Of course, the blue-haired stepped up to whisper some reality.

"Senior Excel, New York is not what ACROSS is after," she refrained. Excel didn't believe the news.

"Maybe not now but after F-City/F-Prefecture, New York City should follow, Hat-chan!" Deadpan sweat-drops "soaked" Ash and Rally at the brazenness of Excel.

"At least she's not doing that in Team Rocket's Magikarp sub," he sighed. Also apologetic was Illpalazzo himself.

"Please excuse the idiocy," he groaned. "ACROSS agents, Excel and Hyatt." Excel stepped past the two elders and reached Ash, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"ACROSS is far from heartless, especially with the world in threats like this," she reassured. "The Spirit World has assigned you new teammates in facing the Black Moon." After the events of before, the confidence to Ash rose a little.

"So you won't need me for long, huh?" Rally shrugged. Now Excel noticed.

"And who is she? Another civil servant?"

"Well, in a sense. I'm Rally Vincent, bounty hunter and gunsmith from Chicago, Illinois. I rescued Ash after he was ambushed by Jadeite." Koenma felt thankful to Rally and her team in support.

"We are in your gratitude, Miss Vincent," he bowed just before turning to the two ACROSS girls. "Agent Excel, Agent Hyatt, could you bring our new members?" Hyatt nodded before walking away. Excel followed after, slightly forgetting that Koenma asked for _both_ of them to get the new recruits. Once they disappeared, however...

"So this is what you've been doing, old friend," voiced another man. All turned to three adults entering the scene. One was a blond in a tan business suit sporting a manly mustache. The other man was a gray-haired young stud in a blue suit. The last was a ponytail redhead wearing an orange suit and skirt while sporting red stilettos. "You stole our recruits on the mission of ending your reign of terror?" Illpalazzo glanced sternly at the trio now entering, more focused on the mustached man.

"Kabapu!" named Illpalazzo. "The last friend I wanted to see in New York. Are you here to protect this city like you did our home?"

"You're one to talk, considering your responsibility from before. I expected you to be incarcerated for your terrorist crimes on the people and the city I dare call home, if not worm food after burying you six feet." Becky seemed intrigued with the history of these two.

"One foot is all I need to step in the path of conquest."

"So you've learned nothing from our previous grudge. All you've conquered is the darkness of your soul." Ash heard enough lip from these two adversaries.

"Okay, you two!" he spoke up. "We got bigger problems than your disagreements. If this new threat wins, there won't be any city to protect or conquer." The two listened to the young man, forgetting about the real issue. Quickly, they backed off their fight.

"He does raise a good point," Illpalazzo realized. "If the new threat takes over, there won't be anywhere to go and hide." Kabapu accepted the proposal.

"Then, we can agree on a truce until the situation's resolved," Kabapu acknowledged. "So I overheard you having a new lineup." The news concerned the gray-haired and redhead behind Kabapu.

"Boss, do we need to interrogate them as well?" he asked.

"No need, Mister Watanabe. You and Miss Matsuya register a hotel for these guests so that they can have room to become acquainted." The redhead agreed to the suggestion.

"I'm on it, boss," she obeyed as she brought out a cellphone. Hyatt reappeared and reached Illpalazzo. There was a streak of blood that dripped from her mouth.

"Lord Illpalazzo, sir," she whispered. "The recruited are ready to appear." The report fluffed a nodding response.

"Thank you, Agent Hyatt," he replied before facing Ash again. "Mister Ketchum, are you ready to meet your new partners in this bid to save mankind?" Ash and Pikachu nodded. The first to come out of the shadows was a tall Hispanic-like brunette young man wearing a lavender button-down shirt and white slacks. He also wore a gold coin on his neck. Early looks made Rally and May gawk.

"Okay, that's... what I call a 'tall glass of water'," Rally gulped. May agreed with a flurry of nods.

"Hello there," the new young man greeted. Ash's legs shook nervously at the size of his first new member. Pikachu's body shivered to the sight.

"This is Yasutora Sado, a 15-year-old student of Karakura High School who has the strength of several men," Illpalazzo introduced. May stood in more shock at learning about Yasutora's age.

"Only 15?" she murmured with a quiver.

"Of course, my friends call me Chad," Yasutora renamed himself as he presented a hand to Ash. For a big teenager, he's humble. Ash's hand, almost half the size of Chad's, clasped to shake on the occasion.

"I may need your strength," he praised. The tall but humble Chad left an impression with May.

"I'm not sure who to take me to dinner one of these days," she cooed. "The prince or this tall boy." Rally and Becky snickered at May's favoring of two men.

"I'm surprised you didn't have this reaction to Ash," Becky teased. "Especially how you enjoyed his Pikachu in your lap." May poked her chin, pondering anything she liked from Ash.

"Well, uh... He's got grit but he's a little short for me." Ouch! Rally rattled her head side-to-side.

"It's not always about the size, May," she taught. "Ash may be young but he's got guts." From behind Illpalazzo and Koenma was a raven-haired man in a white jacket and green pants.

"So this is the runt who's the veteran of saving the world?" he spoke up. "I hope he isn't a pain as Natsu." Koenma waived the new member forward to meet up with Ash.

"This is Gray Fullbuster," he presented. "Gray is a member of the Fairy Tail guild and he's a mage who specializes in Ice Magic." To demonstrate what Koenma referred to, Gray created a small sword out of thin air. Cold vapors seeped upward from the sword.

"Just imagine what else I can do when I'm serious." To Ash, this was someone who could be beneficial down the road.

"Trust me, I won't disappoint you," Ash promised as he extended a hand. Gray scoffed, rather bemused at Ash's stoicism.

"We'll see." Both shook hands, Ash's nearly freezing from Gray's hold. When they broke the hold, Ash shook his hand, trying to warm it back up. He faced the lord and prince to confirm his team.

"So is this it for my team or do I have more?"

"One more, actually," Koenma remembered as the last one came from where the others appeared, only to race past them and snatch Pikachu. All who saw Pikachu disappear turned to see...

"I can't believe how cute you are!" happily shouted a dark redhead girl wearing black while petting the mouse. She wore a black coat with a red hood and skirt underneath, black nylon pantyhose and black boots. "I want to cuddle with you in bed!" Rubbing the cheeks with Pikachu wasn't a good idea as he let out an electric jolt to the new girl, stunning her enough to lose her grip and her consciousness.

"_That_ is your last partner, Ruby Rose," Koenma explained to Ash as Pikachu returned to him. "She's a student at Beacon Academy and is a scythe prodigy. She can be a little wild but she's meaningful." Ash came over to Ruby, recovering from the stunning jolt Pikachu tagged her with.

"You okay?" he offered. Ruby took Ash's hand for support and got to her feet. "Sorry about that. Pikachu was just surprised when you hugged him like you did." Ruby understood what Ash mentioned.

"Well, Pikachu _is_ cute," she complimented. "Sorry about holding you without permission." Pikachu squeaked in accepting her apology. "Still, I wouldn't mind having it in bed with me, maybe for one night, maybe more..." Ash pondered about letting someone like Ruby hold Pikachu for a while considering Beryl and what she could bring. Pikachu felt rather hushed with Ruby wanting it like a teddy bear to a child sleeping.

"I must say, old friend," Kabapu studied. "This is a fine lineup you fixed together. Can they work together?" The challenge seemed to humor Illpalazzo.

"Even components mix well when given the right setting," he surveyed. With the lineup, everything appeared set when Koenma had one more request.

"Ash, is Pikachu your only Pokémon?" he asked. Ash turned to Koenma with a red/white ball on hand.

"This time, I came prepared," he smiled before tossing five balls up. "Come on out, everyone!" The balls opened and five creatures showed up. There was a brown-shelled green turtle with leaves protruding from the top of its head, a reddish-orange chimp with a flame for a tail, a two-tailed weasel with a floatation ring around the neck, gray/brown bird with a tuff of feathers curved forward and down and a pink hybrid of a bat and scorpion. "Meet my Pokémon: Turtwig..."

("Hi there!") the turtle chirped.

"Chimchar..."

("Hey!") the chimp greeted.

"Buizel..."

("What's up?") the weasel huffed.

"Staravia..."

("Present!") the bird cawed.

"...And Gligar."

("Hey there!") the scorpion squawked.

"This is my Pokémon lineup!" The group seemed intrigued with what Ash carried from his world.

"Quite the lineup you have, Ash," Koenma praised. "Let me borrow them for a little bit, as well as your tonfas." Ash looked puzzled with the request but relinquished his Pokémon and the weapons. All the Pokémon gathered around Koenma as he began chanting.

"What do you think he's doing with his pets and sticks?" Rally wondered. That's when vapors from the Pokémon billowed out to the tonfas while a blade protruded from each stick. A minute later, Koenma stopped the process, smiling at the turnout.

"The upgrade is done." The Pokémon didn't know what happened or what came out of their bodies. Ash came over to make sure his Pokémon were okay. "No worries. Your tonfa sticks are now elbow blades. They're also combined with some of your Pokémon's abilities. Make sure you can use them diligently." Handed the new blades, Ash felt no change to its weight as he did a few practice swings.

"Okay, I found a hotel with vacancy," Matsuya informed. "We'll need to travel to East Rutherford to find it. The turnpike is down the highway, swaying east." Kabapu applauded the effort.

"Excellent, Miss Matsuya," he praised. Now Koenma faced those who helped Ash.

"Miss Vincent, you'll be compensated for your volunteering in making sure one of our own is safe and secured," he pointed out. "If you want to help any of our savers out, we'd be happy to have you as support while we try to find Beryl." To Rally, she had enough action for a while.

"The offer's promising but I'd rather take the money and run back to Chicago," she denied. "I'm better going after criminals, not aliens and demons. Other worldly villains ain't my cup of coffee." So much for some extra firepower. Though disappointed, Koenma respected her wishes.

"Very well. In that case, I wish you and your friends a safe trip back to Chicago." The gunsmith was ready to leave but she and May faced Ash who had Chimchar on his shoulder.

"Ash, you've got a lot of work ahead in saving your friends. Good luck out there and if you're ever in Chicago, visit my workshop." Both Ash and Rally shook hands. The moment they broke, May sneaked in and gave Ash a kiss on the cheek. With Becky leading for a short stint, the girls headed back to their vehicle.

"So despite that young prince and that dark-skinned teen, you chose to give a kiss to Ash?" she nagged.

"Hey, he didn't raise his voice without reason," May countered. Rally watched and listened, amused with the two arguing. With those three no longer a part of the battle, Ash, Gray, Chad and Ruby now focused on finding the generals and have them lead to Beryl.

"Guess we'll head out to East Rutherford to rest and know each other more," Gray summarized. Ash, Chad and Ruby agreed with Gray about the hotel in New Jersey.

"Okay, let me recall my Pokémon and I'll join you," Ash checked before gathering his creatures. Kabapu had a plan to get everyone safely to the hotel in question.

"Old friend, I'll have Miss Matsuya carry Mister Ketchum and Miss Rose," he suggested. "Your driver can follow Miss Matsuya while having Mister Sado and Mister Fullbuster on board." This left Watanabe with the rest.

"I guess you finally understand my feelings for Miss Aiyasugi standing right there next to your old friend," he believed.

"Actually, hearing all the harassment cases by Miss Matsuya, this is why I've Mister Iwata and Mister Sumiyoshi coming a little later once she's gone." Just before Ash recalled Chimchar and overhearing the plan, Chad came to Ash's side with something on his mind.

"Ash?" he spoke up. The smaller boy looked up at his new teammate.

"Chad, what's up?" he responded.

"I was wondering if it's okay for me to hold your... Turtwig on the way over to New Jersey. I may be big, but I'm gentle around animals." To Ash, allowing one to bond with Pokémon like Turtwig didn't seem like a problem. Though, Chimchar wasn't sure to trust Chad in this request. "If it helps, I once protected a parakeet from harm." This stoked Ash's and Chimchar's choice to let Chad have Turtwig for sometime.

"Sure thing." Opening a ball, Ash released Turtwig again. "Turtwig, Chad wants you to join him on our way to a resting spot. You think you can behave for that long?" The request seemed to stun the Pokémon. Sure enough, it accepted the idea before hopping to Chad. Once plans were decided, Gray, Chad and Turtwig entered the SUV with Botan back behind the wheel as Matsuya had Ash, Ruby and Pikachu in a green sedan.

"I have the directions to the hotel so you can just follow me," she instructed the cyan-haired.

"Understood," Botan acknowledged. The sedan led the SUV out of the area, the fight against the Black Moon starting soon.

Meanwhile, three of the four generals came back with what looked like older versions of Edward, Rin and Sakura being held down. The blond had the same braided ponytail but wore a vest and slacks. The pink-haired wore a sleeveless red muscle shirt, gloves and shorts. The purple-haired didn't look too different from Rin except for her colors of clothing being black. "Well done, my generals," Beryl bowed. "When Jadeite returns with the last saver, our quest to conquer Crystal Tokyo shall bear fruit." She took notes of who was in her presence. "Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. Rin Kamishiro, the magic swordsman. Sakura Haruno, the healing ninja. Once the trainer is found, so will my plans." The three growled up to the queen in protest.

"Like hell you will!" shouted the alchemist. Just then, Jadeite appeared from out of nowhere. Though unable to obtain Ash, he didn't return empty handed.

"Queen Beryl..." he spoke, having everyone turn in fear that Jadeite completed his mission. When Beryl looked, she became disappointed.

"I instructed you to capture the trainer," she snapped.

"Many apologies, your majesty. However, I came upon an intriguing find while I tried to search the city." The original three saw who Jadeite captured, confused with who he picked up.

"Does anyone know that girl?" Sakura wondered. Neither Edward or Rin had a clue to this new girl.

"She's new to me, as well," Rin moaned. The hooded leader felt a presence within the girl.

"She could be of use," the hood pondered. "With her sealed, you'll have better control with the darkness." The finding seemed to tickle Beryl with how it could work.

"Is that so?" With this news, Beryl forgave Jadeite. "We'll watch over her. You find the boy and bring him here."

"Very well," he replied with a bow. The new girl was put down before Jadeite vanished again.

"Help me..." she whispered. Help was on the way.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	3. Save-Inn

_Chapter 3: Save-Inn_

* * *

To say that it's a new adventure for Ash Ketchum is an understatement. Heading down the New Jersey Turnpike in Matsuya's car, he only had a few things in mind: his missing team, his new team and the voice that entered his mind on the way to see Prince Koenma and Lord Illpalazzo. _"Help me,"_ spoke the voice again. Ash twisted his head around, trying to find the source of the voice. Watching his head dart one way then the other, Ruby and Pikachu didn't understand the reason.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"It's that voice," he claimed. Ruby provided a deadpan look to Ash. Only the second time that he heard the voice and still he couldn't find the source.

"What voice?" The reply left Ash looking like an idiot.

"You... didn't hear it?" Even Pikachu shook his head.

"Are you sure you didn't imagine it?" Matsuya questioned. Ash slumped a little, wondering if perhaps it was in his head. The vehicles reached a hotel and everyone but Botan exited. Ash recalled Turtwig who rode with Chad before they proceeded to a valet who approached Matsuya.

"Do you want me to park your car, miss?" he kindly asked.

"There's no need. I'm registering them a room before leaving." They walked passed the valet as he turned to Botan.

"I'm just escorting them here," she briefed before driving off. The group got key cards from the front desk and entered the elevator which lifted them to the ninth floor. They found room number 925. Matsuya inserted and removed the key card quickly, then opened the door. Inside were two queen-size beds, a couch, a sofa chair, a 36-inch TV and a coffee-maker on a desk.

"Nice digs," Gray complimented. Pikachu hopped on one of the beds, the rubbing of cotton and silk tickling the mouse to his delight.

"Soft beds, a running bathroom..." listed Chad. "I could do without the TV." Ash walked to the window, eying a stadium in the middle of the city, the giant letters emitting blue reading "GIANTS STADIUM."

"This is an awesome view of that stadium," he pointed out. Matsuya came over to view said stadium.

"Giants Stadium is where two American Football teams call home, the Giants and the Jets," she informed. To Ash, there was a different nostalgic feel to it.

"It reminds me of the stadiums I battled in back home: the Indigo Plateau, Silver Stadium, Evergrand Stadium..." The reminder prompted Matsuya and Ruby about back at his home world.

"So you were surrounded by the crowd, not part of it." A nod from Ash confirmed Matsuya's guess. She left after giving Gray the key cards. A while later, Ruby stepped out of the bathroom cleaned up while wearing a white tank-top and pajama pants.

"Just what every girl needs," she sighed with a smile. "A nice, hot shower." Gray lounged on a bed without a top, exposing a tattoo of a bird with an extended talon. Chad relaxed on the chair and Ash looked out the window over Giants Stadium while sitting and occupying the couch to himself.

"We just arrived to help him out," Gray groaned. "Unless you helped yourself to him already." In response, Ruby flung the damp towel and nailed Gray in the face. "Hey!"

"Chill it, Ice Boy!" As Gray peeled the towel from his face, perhaps to throw it back at her, Ruby saw the face of a disturbed trainer. This was different for Ash. Last time, he had Edward, Rin and Sakura to support him. Now those three were held by Queen Beryl and now he had Chad Sado, Gray Fullbuster and Ruby Rose. Ruby reached and sat on Ash's lap. "That voice still bothering you?" Though not facing her, Ash figured she was talking to him.

"Yeah," he answered. "Why am I the only one hearing it? I mean... Pikachu and I share a bond but if he can't hear what I can..." He's worried about this bond like it's not strong enough for both to share.

"Hey, relax! No one says that we don't believe you. If you can hear that voice, it may be one of your teammates calling out for you." It would but there was a problem.

"It's not Rin or Sakura." To him, the voice was a girl. "In fact, I've never heard that voice ever." This started to trouble Chad from the information.

"It's possible the voice may be the key to defeating Beryl," he pondered. "Though it is bothersome to know the voice is only with you and not the rest of us. Did those other three who brought you to the location hear it?" If Pikachu didn't pick up the voice, the chances that either Rally, May or Becky catching it was poor at best. Still, Ash shook his head.

"It may have been transitioned through his other teammates, the ones taken by her generals," Gray theorized. "Who were the other three that teamed up with you before?"

"The Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric," Ash listed. "The healing ninja in training, Sakura Haruno and the magical swordsman, Rin Kamishiro." It was just like last time with four heroes. Only difference is that one of them knows the routine.

"Not a bad lineup," Ruby awed. "I mean, we've been in four-man cells before, right? I'm the leader of Team RWBY back at Beacon as I'm training to be a huntress to protect the people with Weiss, Blake, and my sister Yang." An interesting team for Ruby to have.

"Always a good thing to have family to help out," Gray huffed. "I wish my friend wasn't so cold to me. We both perform Ice-Make magic, though his is more alive than mine." Gray's explanation left everyone awake confused.

"Living ice?" Ash tried to make sense of the issue.

"If there's a way to compare, I'd show you. As for the team I'm in, Natsu Dragneel's the leader. After all, our team's call Team Natsu. We're also teamed with Lucy Heartfilia who's a summoner and Erza Scarlet, the magic swordswoman known as Titania. She keeps the Fairy Tail guild in check." The lineup from Gray's home had powerhouses and it nerved Ash and Ruby. Chad remained stone-cold in the emotions.

"Whoa," Ash and Ruby gasped. Chad? Still indifferent.

"How would they deal with Soul Reapers?" he brought up. Gray blinked at the sound from the big teen.

"Soul Reapers? Like they abscond your souls?" Chad stood, ready to tell of his team.

"Let's just say that I help out Soul Reapers like Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki. They try to keep peace with us humans in Karakura Town. Soul Reapers battle Hollows like the Arancarr. There's also a Quincy in Ūryū Ishida and our healer in Orihime Inoue. While every Soul Reaper uses a special sword called a Zanpaktō, my fists do the most talking when transformed." The rest could only imagine what his arms would look like.

"I guess we can admit we have powerful teams," Ruby concluded. "I can only wonder how much of a powerhouse we are right now." Ash started losing feeling around his legs from Ruby seating herself on him. He didn't want to stay silent.

"How long are you gonna sit in my lap?" he complained. The raven-haired girl gulped before jumping off.

"Sorry. It was just so comfortable." Now that introductions ended, they can plan on how to attack Beryl and her generals. However, eyelids began to weigh on the team. It's been a long day. Arms stretched, shut-eye became a priority.

"I think it's safe to assume we're exhausted," Gray motioned. "Let's get some shut-eye and concentrate on our battle." The rest agreed. Ruby jumped on the other bed from Gray's claim mattress and tucked herself in. Ash and Chad fell asleep on the couch and recliner. The group began the start of rescuing everyone, including the voice. They may not get enough sleep. Levitating outside, Jadeite and the female soldier found the group at the hotel.

"So he's the one Her Highness wants captured?" she sneered, studying Ash.

"That is, Zoycite," Jadeite answered. "I would say the misdirection to hide in New Jersey was ingenious. Besides, they'll need a lot of rest if they stand a chance to face one of us, let alone our queen." To Zoycite, Jadeite had a plan.

"I suppose your next ploy isn't a screw-up like last time." Jadeite snorted his head away from the scorn.

"That woman was an addition. Without her in the way now, those three are just mere obstacles. I'll be back with the boy." Zoycite scoffed, willing to enjoy how this would end up.

"That or an explanation on how one little boy is such a big deal that you can't grasp your hands on." With a giggle, Zoycite vanished before Jadeite could deck her with a backhand.

"The nerve of her. How does Neflite deal with her attitude?" With that rant, he disappeared. As the night pressed on, everyone in #925 slept soundly. 2:50 AM.

"_Help me," _the voice called out again. Though his head jarred a little, Ash still slept. It may be a dream but it was her again.

"Where... are you?" he whispered.

"_With your friends..." _The reply got him to snap awake. He looked around, seeing nothing but his new team. That's when another question popped up.

'Which friends? Ed, Rin and Sakura... or Brock and Dawn?' He clasped his head to focus. He could fall back to sleep and forget. He got up and entered the shower. The splashing water from the head tried to pound away, not just the grime from his hair but the confusion of what the voice was asking for. The running shower stirred Ruby. Her groggy silver eyes spun to the sound. She looked through the room, counting those in the same place. There's Chad, Gray and Pikachu, but no Ash. Looking at the clock, she wondered why the shower's running at this time at night.

"Did the voice tell him to wash up?" she weakly thought. "He's starting to lose his mind." That's when the shower stopped running. Ash stepped out wearing shorts and a towel drying his face.

"Maybe it's like before, finding Yukina with my friends." As he returned to the couch, he sensed Ruby watching him.

"Is everything okay?" A nod of Ash's head was his reply. "I just don't want to see our leaderlosing his marbles come crunch time." Ash was taken aback with her offered title.

"When I was with the other three, at no point did we have a leader. All we did was look out for each other. I'm only a leader with my Pokémon, no one else." The reply bemused the other raven-haired that she laughed a little.

"Well, considering the circumstances, someone like you with experience with new co-workers or team members would help control the pace. It's funny that you didn't want to be labeled as leader." The bemused trainer shrugged his shoulders, surrendering to anymore denial. "Why don't you tuck in with me tonight? I promise not to do anything with you." Unfortunately for Ash, he wouldn't get the chance. The fire alarm had gone off. Sirens and lights from the hotel blared loudly to wake the others.

"What the hell!?" Gray bellowed. Realizing they needed to escape, they quickly got the clothes on their bodies and exited, thinking trouble. The crowds raced to the emergency stairs and journeyed down in a panicked state. There's a good reason since the group smelled smoke from below. There's an actual fire engulfing the building. Scores of people reached the exits and filed on the next block, seeing flames gushing out of windows. Inside, the group reached the emergency stairs, ready to escape when Pikachu heard crackling noises. He looked back and found the cause of the fire: two hideous greenish-skinned women wielding what looked like tennis rackets created by flames of some sort. The shark-tooth women swatted fireballs at the group.

("Behind us!") yelled the mouse. Everyone saw the two serving the fireballs, Gray stepping up.

"I got this! Ice-Make Shield" Gray palmed the floor before a mist formed in front of him. Just as the fireballs were going to make contact, a wall of ice sprung up and intercepted the flames, snuffing them.

"Okay, that's cool," Ruby awed. "No pun intended. Now allow me." The two ugly women looked on, shocked at the blocked attack. Ruby grabbed a black block from her pouch and hit a button which unfolded. When done, she held a giant scythe. The creatures quickly grew in fear at the new weapon just as Ruby raced at the two. She swung the scythe, catching one in the ribs. Cut open, it was a surprise no blood exited the wound. Regardless, that creature fell, dead from the strike. The other raced passed Ruby to target Ash but Chad stepped in front and caught the enemy in the head with a giant black hand. Now in his clutch, he slammed the enemy face-first on the floor. He picked "her" back up as Ash grabbed his new elbow blades, jabbing one in the gut before twisting the handle. Something starting winding up when Chad let it go. With one thrust, the elbow blade released a blast of wind. Ruby saw the oncoming enemy, the blade of the scythe still sharp. She swung, the slice carving through it. Both enemies laid dead and bought enough time for the crew to escape. They reached the ground level and outside, upset that their sleep was interrupted and the hotel had gone up in flames as fire trucks and ambulances arrived on the scene. People had mixed reactions to the fire. Some scared, some mad, some wanting to get back to sleep.

"That could have gone better," Chad mulled.

"For sure," Ash groaned. "Apparently, this was a deliberate attack while we were asleep." Now the group had to think about their next move. Fortunately, the van Botan carried the heroes to found them in the crowd. Unfortunately, Excel was the one driving and Hyatt sat in the passenger seat, slumped over.

"Teacakes!" gasped Excel. "Get inside and hurry!" The group entered the van and Excel reversed and peeled away, escaping the confusion. Excel drove back toward the Turnpike, hoping the general who attacked the hotel didn't follow. "Excel's glad all of you are safe."

"That makes two of us," Chad huffed. The sigh of relief would be short lived as Jadeite flew, chasing the van in hopes of obtaining Ash. Hyatt woke up with blood trickling from her mouth and found Jadeite hovering above by the side mirror.

"That ignorant mass is fast approaching," she alerted. Realizing the danger, Ruby chose to take matters to her own hands.

"Allow me!" she offered as she slid the van door open and climbed to the roof while the van traveled at high speed.

"I'm here for the boy!" scolded Jadeite. "Don't get in my way!" Ruby snagged and unfolded her scythe. Knowing the scythe couldn't reach him, Jadeite scoffed. "That's your weapon? Oh, that's intimidating!" The sarcastic remark to Ruby her enemy didn't take her seriously. She twirled, folded and adjusted her scythe and the result became a rifle. The new weapon could now reach him with one shot and Jadeite concluded with serious concern. "Okay, _that's _intimidating." No sarcasm from that. Ruby pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and nailed Jadeite in the shoulder, green-colored blood gushing from the wound. Jadeite clasped his shoulder in the attempt to control the bleeding. Ruby aimed again but not wanting to become Swiss cheese... "I'll retreat for now." He vanished before she could pull the trigger once more. Victorious, Ruby folded her rifle back up before climbing back in the van.

"That should let him know who's here to stop the Black Moon," she smirked, getting a high-five from Gray and Ash.

"So your scythe can turn into a rifle," Chad understood, vehemently bemused. "I guess you'll be our long-range specialist if we need it." Ruby nodded before taking Pikachu from Ash's lap.

"Thanks. But we shouldn't relax yet."

"She's right," Ash agreed. "Let's get to New York and ACROSS HQ underneath." Going back didn't sound thoughtful from the rest in the van until Excel knew one way.

"The time vortex!" she guessed with enthusiasm. "That should buy you time to rest up!" Ash nodded to Excel's answer. Hyatt had some concern to the idea.

"Senior Excel, if they enter the time vortex," she muttered. "Is there a way they can get back safely without the time watch?" Ash cringed at the overlooked piece of equipment crucial to their chance of victory. Not to Excel, apparently.

"Don't sweat it, Hat-chan! Someone is waiting back at the HQ! Excel won't say who!" To Ash, it may have been someone they know. Still, they had little choice but to get help if they want the Black Moon to fall. Right now, getting to Manhattan is top priority. The mysterious voice offered a clue to Ash but the clue was shallow. As the van entered the turnpike, the wounded Jadeite watched, his hand covered in green blood from the shot in the shoulder.

"Damn girl," he scowled. "Intercepting the boy is proving more difficult than it needs to be." He contemplated what his next move should be. "Do I continue after him or rest and let Neflite take over so I can heal myself?" While recovering from the bullet wound sounded favorable, Zoycite entered if only to mock his latest failure.

"These 'mere obstacles' seem to be enjoying your torture," she mocked. "One little boy and somehow you can't ring him in. This is comedy gold!" Jadeite seethed from the teasing.

"Like you know how it feels to get a bullet in your body! I never suspected the scythe that lone girl carried doubled as a rifle!" Zoycite removed the hand from the wound to see the caliber of the shot. A whistle wasn't good to him.

"I've got a good feeling how bad that must hurt. You recover while I try my luck seducing him." Jadeite didn't want to give up on taking Ash but his wound told him to fall back.

"Very well." Jadeite vanished, leaving Zoycite to plot an attack. What could the lone female general have in store for the group?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	4. Spirit in the Sewers

_Chapter 4: Spirit in the Sewers_

* * *

Back to New York City, the heroes watched the sunrise of a new day to them entering Manhattan after the chase. Escaping from a hotel fire, the heroes headed back to the main area of the crisis when they got ambushed by Jadeite. Quick skills by Ruby fended off Jadeite and now wounded, he's retreated to give Zoycite a shot to take out the team just to capture Ash. They soon entered the city limits after two attempts at their lives. The van parked on a side street, hoping to stave from unneeded attention. Ruby stepped out of the sliding passenger side door while Excel hopped off the driver's seat. Turning around, the huntress-in-training helped Ash and Pikachu from the van while Gray and Chad waited for their moment to exit. "I'm rather surprised that your scythe can be converted to a firearm of sorts," Gray brought up.

"It's more or less commonplace around Beacon," Ruby answered. "Most weapons have dual purposes to support long range and close combat." The trainer looked intrigued by Ruby's impressive tool. With everyone out of the van, Excel proceeded to a wall and pushed a brick in the structure. That's when a piece of the wall lifted to reveal a hidden door.

"Down this way!" she urged. With Hyatt and Ruby leading the way down, everyone used the ladder to descend below New York streets. Pikachu rode on Chad's shoulder while he stepped and clung the way down. The group found the sewers, one place Ash remembered from the first go-around.

"Last time I was here, demons and Sound Ninja invaded the sewers," he recalled. "Of course, I still think about Excel taking Team Rocket's Magikarp sub." Excel itched her neck, trying to forget that chase but still remembered one thing from it.

"Excel's memory still scarred from that blond transmuting..." she hesitated to finish. The new heroes pondered why Excel suddenly stopped speaking when Ash whispered to Gray what she refused to bring up. The detail got Gray to balk in surprise.

"Trust me, Rin and I didn't need to see what Ed did."

"I could imagine why," a disgusted Gray gulped. The group started their walk down the sewer, unaware of the Generals' change of hands. Ever since returning to Manhattan, the voice had been relatively quiet. It started to get somewhat unsettling for Ash and Pikachu began his own worried condition about his human friend.

"Is everything okay, Senior Ash?" Hyatt asked. Ash didn't look to reply but Chad sensed uneasiness.

"Hyatt and Pikachu can tell that you're being bothered by something," he pointed out. Even Ash knew it wasn't anything he could hide.

"You know about that voice that calls out to me?" he opened. "Since coming back to New York, she's been awfully quiet like either she's out of energy to communicate with me or Beryl's using some magic to block our link or maybe..." Another moment of hesitation. Excel remained cheerful despite the ongoing issues weighing down on the veteran.

"Need not speaketh thine bad crap!" she bellowed. "Keep thine chin pointing to the ceiling and don't go dragging everyone of the ignorant masses to the pits of hell!" In other words, don't think negatively.

"All you could have said was to stay quiet about that," Gray summarized. A minute of walking later, Pikachu's ears perked. His nose scented something amiss. He leaped down and faced the other way.

("Someone's here!") he squeaked. Hearing the Pokémon, all turned to Pikachu's direction and at first, no one appeared. Finally, Zoycite made her debut to them. The group gawked to see the new general.

"Is Jadeite dead?" Gray questioned.

"No, he's recovering after _she_ put a bullet to his shoulder," Zoycite pointed. "I'm the lone female General of Queen Beryl, Zoycite. I'm not as weak as that blond half-wit." Everyone got their weapons ready and Pikachu's cheeks sparked up. "Must we resort to violence? It would be easier for everyone if you simply hand over the boy." Ash clapped his sticks together, flames spewing from the ends.

"You should know that you'll take him the hard way, if you can," Chad warned. Zoycite scoffed to the threat.

"So must it be. Zoy!" With a wave of her arm, a storm of cherry-colored petals showed up and fired at the heroes, completely forgetting Ash activating the fire within the elbow blades. With one swipe, a wall of fire burst open and blocked the attack, the petals snuffed on impact. Zoycite growled at the defense. She flung her arm again. "Zoy!" The flames were blown away but it bought enough time for the heroes to escape. Flying, Zoycite raced after the heroes in an attempt to flee. Leading, Excel rounded corners in the manhole maze beneath the streets just as a blue miniature submarine with a growling sea serpent's face surfaced in a sense. Zoycite reached the sub, surprised about the design. "What in the world is that?" The answer came in the forms of three individuals.

"You leave the twerp and his Pikachu to Team Rocket!" advised the woman with the blood red hair, wearing a white uniform fitted with an "R" as a logo and a white skirt with black thigh-high boots.

"After all, they've shutdown any attempt to get our promotions!" added the blue-haired man in a similar uniform but with white pants instead of a skirt.

"And we've tailed dem for years!" snarled a white cat with a coin drilled on his forehead. Zoycite snickered at how terrible their track record was.

"You three are pathetic," she snorted. "You can't do one simple job on a child after the length you've tailed him? Queen Beryl would've had you dead if she ordered it, especially you, old hag!" The redhead gasped at what Zoycite called her. Quickly, she had gone from defensive to boiled anger.

"Old hag?!" she repeated before standing up with a Pokéball on hand. "You have crossed the line, sister!" Not phased, Zoycite popped a fireball in her gloved hand.

"The only line I cross is the line of mercy. Zoy!" She chucked the fireball where the redhead threw the Pokéball which met in the middle and exploded in shrapnel. The other two freaked, believing the redhead sacrificed a Pokémon.

"Jessie, how could you send Dustox to death?!" the blue-haired shrieked.

"James, you dolt!" Jessie snapped. "That was an empty Pokéball! Though I should have released Wobbufett to Counter that attack." That's when a rift rippled beside Zoycite. Jessie and James watched when a faint image of Beryl showed up.

"_**So, you are also protecting the boy in our conquest," **_the queen conceded. Jessie growled at the new person, once dead.

"In your dreams! Seviper, attack with Poison Tail!" She threw another ball which opened to see a forest-green snake with gold hexagonal plates over its body and head with blood red fangs and eyes. It also had a blade on the tail and it was glowing eerie purple. The blade swung but passed through the queen. Jessie attacked without realizing Beryl wasn't actually there.

"_**That's embarrassing. Haven't you seen anyone appear in front of you in ethereal form? I cannot be harmed since I'm not with Zoycite or the brainless one like yourself!" **_Jessie seethed at Beryl's taunt.

"Don't mock me so arrogantly, her snotness! If I can't touch you, I'll be happy to sting your servant!" The scoffing Zoycite wove her hand, icicles forming from midair.

"Takes someone arrogant to know another," she sneered as she sent the icicles at Team Rocket who dove back in the submarine for protection. "Although, you survived this long to try my new trick. Bon voyage! Zoy!" With a snap of her fingers, the icicles exploded and so did the submarine. Team Rocket got blasted out of the sewer and over the New York Skyline.

"Dis is why I warned you not to follow da twerp back here!" the cat growled. "We would've been in a perfectly good spot if youse listen!" Jessie couldn't get enough lip from anyone.

"Even the twerp would've advised you to stay away from transparent people if your going to recklessly attack," James added. Jessie smacked James and the cat in the heads despite the risk of going for the spins.

"Why can't I make you two transparent?!" she argued as they flew south.

"We're blasting off again!" the three screamed as they left Manhattan. Beryl's ethereal form vanished and Zoycite moved on to find the heroes who've reached a door deep within the sewer.

"Here we are!" announced Excel as she opened the door. Inside, two people stood bored. A tall redhead teen in an open white jacket and slacks while the other was a green-haired girl in a sky-blue kimono. Ash chuckled to the two he knew.

"Kuwabara!" he named with excitement. "Yukina!" He and Kuwabara exchanged a fist bump as Yukina also approached. "What about Yusuke and the rest?"

"Yusuke, Hiei and Kurama joined the prince in trying to find Beryl's hideout," Yukina explained.

"Meanwhile, we get to meet your new team and discuss why Yukina and I waited for you," Kuwabara added. Chad, Gray and Ruby stepped forth and introduced themselves to Yukina and Kuwabara. "By the way, Ash... Sorry about losing the original team. Hopefully, Uremeshi and shorty could get their chance in getting the rest hack." Ash nodded, hoping to find a silver lining to the escapade.

"Anyway, what plan do you have for us and how will it help against Beryl?" asked Ruby. Kuwabara gave a nod to Yukina which she started digging in her kimono.

"Last time, when Illpalazzo was under the control of Jonau, he sent Ash and his team in each dimension," Yukina informed.

"If you guys use the dimensional rift and trap the generals, we can weaken Beryl's hold on New York," Kuwabara plotted. That's when Ash figured the item Yukina was grabbing for.

"The watch?!" he guessed. "But wasn't the watch locked up in Koenma's vault back in the Spirit World?" Yukina finally pulled out the watch and handed it to Ash.

"Yes, but under the circumstances, he's opened the vault and retrieved the demonic time warp watch from there and hoped you remembered how to use it," she confirmed. Ash looked like he wasn't ready for this responsibility. However, the situation grew dire.

"So by luring Beryl's Generals to where we are, we can fight and defeat them one-on-one," Gray pondered. If the heroes needed to stop Beryl, it was a first step.

"Can it work?" questioned Chad. To Ash, there wasn't much of a choice.

"It's a long shot," he mulled. "But considering what we've been through, a long shot is better than no shot at all. I know where the rift is. Excel, could you open the rift from the platform?"

"You can count on Excel!" she cheered, pumping her fist in excitement. Everyone geared for the trip to everyone's dimensions. However, their trip across all available lands would be delayed as a door was blasted open by Zoycite's fireball barrage. Facing down on the group, the General looked ready to kill.

"You're cornered," she warned. "But before I kill you and take him, I believe it's appropriate for you to meet the queen." The team and Kuwabara cocked their weapons as Zoycite took one step aside. Back in ethereal form, Beryl appeared.

"Who... is that?" Kuwabara gawked.

"_**Greetings, children," **_she welcomed with a grin. **_"I am Beryl, member of the Black Moon and Queen of the Negaverse. I once fell under the power of the princess of the Moon Kingdom but now I seek the powers of the Battling Time Savers of lore to open a gateway to Crystal Tokyo and conquest of the world." _**At least she has her priorities straight.

"What have you done with my friends?!" demanded Ash.

"_**Right to the point I see. I can assure you that your friends have not been harmed... as well as a bonus." **_Ash cringed at the extra information from Beryl.

"You don't mean the voice in my head?" The reply got Beryl interested more.

"_**Fascinating... More proof to claim you in empowering the Black Moon, let alone myself. It seems there's a connection after all between the two of you, though I highly doubt you two have ever met." **_Everyone stood befuddled by Beryl's claim but did confirm what Ash was hearing before.

"Is there a reason we cannot hear this person but Ash can?" wondered Chad.

"_**That remains unclear at the moment."**_ Even she wasn't sure on the connection dispute. The mystery thickened. _**"Perhaps with your capture, I'll be able to find the connection."**_ Of course, if Chad, Ruby and Gray cooperated.

"Don't expect us to go down easily," Ruby smirked. Zoycite rose a hand, aiming at the group.

"The point is for you to go down at all," she grinned as icicles reformed around her. "Zoy!" The icicles shot out at the group but Kuwabara and Ruby slashed the ice with her scythe and a sword that looked created out of energy. All the icicles were now chunks of ice which Ash clicked his blades together, wind circling around before throwing a punch. That swing blew the ice back at Zoycite who summoned the cherry blossoms to shield her. This bought enough time for everyone to escape. At least the heroes weren't dumb to try striking Beryl like Jessie did and failed. Excel saw two ropes after they reached a familiar area.

"Teacakes!" she shrieked. "Which one?!" The group knew they were running out of time. Ash remembered the one closer to the end of the stream had the rift but wasn't sure which rope opened it.

"Pull them both!" suggested Gray. Giving in, Excel pulled both as Gray issued. Two holes opened. Ash pointed to the one he fell in before.

"It's this one!" he pointed to as the group dove in, Pikachu hanging on Ash's head tightly. This gave Ash an idea. "Grab on! We won't be separated like before!" They agreed as Ruby held Ash's a Gray's hands and Chad snatched the other hands of the two. Just like falling out of an airplane for a skydiving experience. Zoycite saw the group vanish with a ripple.

"Dammit," she cursed. "...And they were within my grasp!" That's when Jadeite, recovered from the bullet wound, emerged with the other two.

"Let's chase the children," the silver-haired ordered. "We'll bring them back." The generals agreed and flew down to the rift, the ripples being the last until they emerged in the multiple worlds. Viewed through her crystal ball, Beryl concluded the event.

"Looks like the boy has found a way to escape through that hole," the hooded one explained.

"What significance does the hole represent?" she asked.

"One I am not sure of. The only way we can know is the result of the generals." That's when Beryl looked up at four crystal stalagmites, each containing the original three of four with the unknown girl. A wave of her hand lowered a crystal. Inside was Rin. The crystal dissolved until the head was exposed to air.

"What do you want, Beryl," she seethed.

"Rin Kamishiro," Beryl named. "Perhaps you can explain what this hole represents and why Ash Ketchum and his new friends took the plunge." The crystal ball levitated to Rin which she viewed the moment. Watching the generals gave Rin a smile.

"Your generals are fools to chase Ketchum down the rift. Our worlds hold warriors just as powerful as all of us." Beryl growled, the mocking of the original Time Saver driving her nerves.

"You dare mock me despite you in my possession?" Rin bowed her head with a smile.

"Mock? I only speak the truth. Alchemists, Pokémon trainers, ninjas, magicians... they joined us fighting demons to save the worlds. Your generals will face forces that will make them beg for their lives." More growling from Beryl. Rin savored her torture.

"So the boy is quite the cunning one. Even if he was alone, he still could find ways out of situations anyone, even myself, insert him in." Raising her hand, palm up, the crystal reformed and froze a smiling Rin before sending her back to the ceiling with the rest. To Rin, Ash sent the generals in a trap. How can Beryl's generals survive, let alone find and capture Ash?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED... (The poll is up to see if this story goes through the current or past team or both. For the next chapter, which world would you want to see?)


	5. The Magic Train Rush

_A/N: The votes are in and it will involve the world of the current lineup._

_Chapter 5: The Magic Train Rush_

* * *

They escaped New York City and supposedly Queen Beryl's grasp. Now Ash had casted the group from the modern-era city. Eyes opened to find a young redhead woman, slightly younger than Jessie at least, wearing silver armor and gauntlets. "Good, you're coming to," she sighed in relief. Those eyes were Chad's. The redhead offered a gauntlet to help him on his feet, showing that she had a blue skirt. Once back on his feet, he turned to find his teammates chatting with a pink-haired young man in a black vest and white slacks, a ponytail blond girl in an orange blouse and blue skirt, and a blue cat with wings. Aside from Pikachu, the Time Savers had wardrobe changes as well. Ash wore about the same clothing as the pink-haired aside from a red bandanna and boots to sandals. Ruby lost her stockings and hooded coat but wore a comfy black blouse, skirt and boots. Gray didn't change one bit. Chad? He wore a button-down lavender shirt open and slacks. That's when he realized the ceiling. They're in a building.

"Are we... inside?" he asked.

"Yes. We're in the train station, heading back to Fiore." The redhead's destination clued in for Chad.

"You mean Fairy Tail?" A stern smile on the redhead was a sign that Chad had been informed.

"So Gray told you about us, is that right?" A nod from Chad confirmed the redhead's suspicions. "Then he must have told you about who we are."

"More or less." Minding the hair, Chad had a gut guess on the woman. "You must be Erza Scarlet based on your hair." The redhead scoffed to the tall brunette's guess.

"Most people I run into identify me by my breastplate but regardless, I am Erza." Both Chad and Erza shook hands as the others regrouped.

"We were kinda worried that you wouldn't wake up," Ruby huffed. Chad understood Ruby's concern and nodded, though physically he appeared fine.

"I'm actually more surprised that we're still together." He then turned to Ash, thinking he was responsible for this miracle. "Was it from experience that we're still in the unit?" A shrugged shoulder told everyone that Ash didn't predict the surprise.

"It was the second time falling in that rift," he admitted. "I mean... the last time, none of us knew about the rift until we found ourselves in each dimension while searching for Yukina and the demonic watch." The confession had the rest believing Ash took a chance in wondering if they would go through the same scenario.

"It's finally nice to meet you, Mr. Big!" the cat mewed as it, or he, flew to see Chad for itself. The brunette glared in shock at hearing the cat for himself.

"You can talk?" he gulped. The flying cat giggled at the dumbfounded look.

"Of course, silly! Though I was shocked that Ash wasn't as stunned as you were. He said that he deals with a talking cat of his own on a daily basis." If he meant that same cat that was with those two adults in uniforms, they're somewhere south of New York.

"It does suck that these other three aren't wizards like us," the pink-haired complained. "But since they became good buds with Gray, I'm sure taking them to the Fairy Tail guild wouldn't hurt." The blond did look skeptical about the idea while petting Pikachu's ears.

"You think Makarov will take in these guys?" she argued. Before anyone could answer the blond, the train pulled up. It entered the station and stopped to let passengers out. A minute later, the conductor exited but hung around the doorway.

"Train to Fiore will leave in a few minutes!" he called out. "Train to Fiore!" Tickets in hand, they offered them to the conductor for entrance to the train. Once all the passengers stepped on... "All aboard!" The train left. A few minutes in, the pink-haired looked on the verge of regurgitation. The sight had the Time Savers, minus Gray, ready to move to different seats.

"I guess Natsu is related in motion sickness like Jaune," Ruby pointed out. Erza lifted Natsu by the shoulder. What did the Titania have in mind?

"Relax," she eased. "I got it." She delivered a kidney punch to Natsu which he fell unconscious. Ash and Pikachu got rather fearful of her tactics.

"Wow, she's not messing around," he murmured. Pikachu agreed, shivering in fear of the redhead.

"I did tell you that when she's at the guild," Gray reminded. "She sets everyone straight." Even Chad got the memo.

"As long as you stay on Erza's good side, she'll be nice to you," the cat advised. Gray patted and pulled the cat from the air.

"I think they got the message, Happy."

"Aye!" After a moment of silence to settle in who's who, the blond put her curiosity on Beryl's generals.

"Anyway, I don't understand why this Queen Beryl would be after Ash like he's part of a prophecy or legend," she questioned. Ash pushed his shoulders to shrug, no clue about it himself.

"I wish I knew, Lucy," he replied. "She's already got my three other partners, not to mention a girl that she admitted hasn't met me." The three currently traveling with Ash started to understand the mysterious connection thanks to their moment meeting the evil queen.

"So a revived monarchy has gathered the previous heroes," Erza tried to picture. "Yet her intentions remain in secret and has sent her best men to claim the young boy? Somewhere and somehow, it makes sense." A serious problem that's about to become a reality when the train's wheels screeched, pain ringing in everyone's ears. Natsu got flung to the floor, his head near Lucy's sandals and she put a sole on his face.

"Don't even think about it," she warned, her brow furrowed. The train at a complete stop, the passengers wondered why it stopped. The conductor came to the car with that explanation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have debris strewn on the railroad," he advised. "We'll have it cleaned up to resume our trip to Fiore. We apologize for any inconvenience." Something didn't feel right for those from Fairy Tail and the Time Savers. Feeling the uneasy sense, Erza stood and met with the conductor.

"Excuse me," she spoke. "While we wait for what debris is the track, may we step outside and stretch?" The conductor recognized the one, her request second.

"The Fairy Queen. We did stop short of the canyon so I suppose I could let you out for some fresh air while we clean up the mess."

"Thank you." With the request granted, the passengers exited the car except for Happy hoping Natsu could recover. Natsu finally reached his feet, still woozy from the motion sickness.

"Are we there yet?" he groaned.

"Nope," Happy sighed. "Just a pit stop." Natsu didn't want to go on.

"Great..." The last two hopped out where Ash and Ruby admired the canyon clouded in... incredibly dense fog with pillar protruding from below.

"I hate to get lost in that," she gulped. Ash bobbed a nod before turning back to the railroad track. Instead of boulders, a wooden gate blocked the path entering the canyon.

"I swear this wasn't here when we first passed the canyon!" argued the engineer. The conductor wasn't disagreeing with what the engineer pointed to.

"No one's accusing you of anything, yet," he attempted to ease. "Let's just remove this gate and get this caboose moving." The engineer surrendered before both proceeded to the gate and put it to the side. "I swear I don't get paid enough to do this." They wouldn't be able to touch the gate, let alone move it. A stream of magic missiles blew up between the two and the gate. The Savers and those from Fairy Tail heard the explosion and spun to the brunette in uniform. Ash realized it wasn't Jadeite and since this brunette was a man, Zoycite wasn't a guess.

"Who is that?" Lucy shrieked. The brunette eyed the trainer and his Pikachu, target in sight.

"Looks like I'll be claiming the boy before my comrades have a chance," he sneered. Natsu stumbled out of the car, arms around his stomach and Happy flying by him. He still felt queasy just from the train ride.

"I keep forgetting why I hate public transport," he mulled. Happy looked to the canyon to see the new threat.

"Well, you'll hate that guy even more," he warned. Natsu looked up to see the new general of Queen Beryl.

"So are you Neflite or Malachite?" Ruby asked. The brunette chose to humor the Savers with who he was.

"I suppose your demise is necessary to know who I am," he smiled. "My name is Neflite, the second general of Queen Beryl's reign." He darted his eyes to around the back car and charging was a horde of mutants. Erza and Lucy freaked out about what came charging their way.

"That's not good," Erza groaned. Ruby brought out her scythe and Ash his blades. Ruby slashed the air, creating a wave of energy which nailed a group. Happy had an idea for Lucy and flew to her.

"Lucy, summon Aquarius!" he suggested. To the blond, it wasn't possible.

"Happy, two problems!" she scolded. "Aquarius and I can't see eye-to-eye, and there's no water around!" The plan seemed down the drain until Chad remembered Buizel, thus turning to the owner.

"Hey, Ash," he called out. "Get your Buizel out. Lucy needs some water." Ash heard Chad while avoiding the myriad of magic missiles provided by Neflite.

"Okay!" he yelled as he grabbed the Pokéball. "Buizel, I choose you!" He threw the ball toward Lucy but released in mid-flight, Buizel making an appearance.

("Let's go!") it chirped.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet!" Buizel cocooned itself in a veil of water before dashing at the mutants. The impact knocked the hostiles back a bit before Buizel retreated to Lucy who seemed in shock at the convenient source.

"Well, that shut me up," she gulped before an idea hit her and ran to the creature that sported a floaty around its neck. "Could you do that again but hold your position?" Buizel gawked at the new woman and her request. It turned to Ash who nodded. It then charged up another cocoon of water. "That's really cool. Anyway..." Lucy grabbed a gold key that had a head which looked like an urn with a lid. "Open! Gate of the Water! Aquarius!" She pierced the Aqua Jet cocoon which a shine emitted from both that and the key. Out of the light was a blue-haired mermaid with blue scaly fins for legs and holding a glass urn. She also sported a blue bikini top with a white linen. Neflite became startled at the arrival of a creature like a mermaid. Ruby and Buizel, stunned that its Aqua Jet dissolved, gawked as well.

"Whoa, I thought mermaids were myths," she stuttered. "At least that's what Yang told me."

("What is that?") Buizel wondered. Lucy scoffed Ruby's stunned face, wanting to advise the scythe-wielder who Aquarius was.

"I'm a summoner. Aquarius is one of my Celestial Spirits I can summon using the keys." Aquarius opened her blue eyes, finding the plains and no water. That's when she found the mutants, disgusted with why she came out. The grunt alerted Lucy. "Look, this wasn't my idea! Happy's the one who told me to summon you!" To Aquarius, that wasn't the issue... mostly.

"Apparently, that dumb cat forgot I was with my boyfriend on vacation," she scowled. Happy got scared and rightfully so as Aquarius snagged him by the wings before dunking the cat in her urn. She swished the urn around before hurling the water at the mutants, washing them away. Her behavior toward Happy got Lucy and Ruby a little dumbfounded.

"Is she always like that?" whispered the scythe-wielder.

"More or less," replied the blond. "Aquarius has a temper smaller than her bikini lines." A sweat drop on Ruby's head dripped on that possibility.

"I can see. By the way, how the heck can a spirit have a boyfriend?"

"Easy, hers is Scorpio, another Celestial Spirit." Ruby nodded, getting the picture. Neflite, seeing his horde get flushed, turned his head to the Celestial Spirit.

"So this world has spirits taking shape of mythical creatures," he murmured. Aquarius spun her body to the one describing her. "Perhaps if you despise your summoner, join the Black Moon and help conquer all worlds." The offer had Aquarius huff a chuckle. She seemed and sounded amused by it.

"You must be pulling my fins if you believe I will join you," she scoffed. "I do despise my summoner, but I do it in my humor. Your Black Moon is a clan I refuse to accept." Neflite scowled at the denial he offered to the spirit.

"Are you mocking my offer?" A sneering grin from Aquarius told her about a demise she's plotting.

"Sir, I do not mock offers... I destroy them." A denial Neflite refused to allow.

"So be it." More magic missiles tossed. Buizel spat a stream of water, knocking the light orbs away. Aquarius looked amused with the Pokémon's ability.

'This little creature controls water as well. Perhaps I could have it as a pet.' That's when Gray looked toward Natsu and remembered another Pokémon that Ash held.

"Hey, Ash!" he shouted. "Get your Chimchar to Natsu!" Ash wasn't sure why Gray would want his little monkey Pokémon. He started to think that if Buizel helped Lucy, the same could be said about Chimchar and Natsu. He had to give it a go.

"Okay!" he yelled as he grabbed another ball and threw it at Natsu. Gray caught it and opened it to unleash the simian. Chimchar looked confused just like Buizel did but Gray hoped to clarify with the request.

"Chimchar, I want you to use any fire-based attack to feed Natsu." Chimchar didn't understand Gray's motivation.

"If I eat some fire, I can help your owner," Natsu promised. Chimchar looked back at Ash and Chad with Neflite charging more white orbs. It surrendered and spat flames at Natsu with his mouth wide open. The stream lasted about 20 seconds but Natsu swallowed every ember. "Now that's the stuff. Thanks, little guy." Standing up, Natsu felt extremely confident as he looked up to Neflite. "Okay, brunette. Why don't you fight me now that you've shown it to my team? I've got a fire in my belly and it's raging to get out!" The general didn't seem amused.

"Is that so?" scorned Neflite waived more minions over. To Natsu, this was practice.

"If you insist..." His cheeks puffed up with an ember or two leaking out. "Fire Dragon Roar!" A circlet emerged in front of Natsu who blew a small stream at it, suddenly magnifying into a raging explosion of flames which incinerated the horde. Ash, Chad, Ruby and the Pokémon stood in shock at how Natsu blew that gargantuan blast from his mouth. Neflite cringed at the immense power and heat from the pink-haired fiery attack.

"Dragon lungs, dragon scales and dragon nails," Lucy listed. "Combine that with him devouring some fire and Natsu is unbeatable."

"Wizards around here can be pretty scary," Ruby mumbled, her finger itching her cheek. Aquarius dumped water on the charred remains of the mutants which kicked up steam which enveloped everyone. Neflite foolishly descended to the steam cloud.

"So now I can escape with the boy," he assumed as he forced the steam away... and receive a shot to the gut by his target. Ash used the steam to find Neflite for a sneak attack and timed it perfectly.

"Let me clear this," he lowly warned. "I'll save my friends. You can't stop me." Neflite glared down, green liquid spurting from his mouth as the elbow blade remain jabbed in his stomach and him nearly doubling over in agony. Then came Natsu racing in, his hand ablaze.

"This is for endangering my friends!" he shouted. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!" Natsu decked Neflite in the face so hard, his skull, jaw and teeth shattered and his face scorched. The face-shot propelled the general over the canyon and collided head-first at a pillar protruding from the clouds. He didn't stay attached for long. Neflite fell in the fluffy soup unconscious. Everyone else watched on to his vanishing, believing it was the last time they had to deal with him. Same could be said back with Queen Beryl as four candles with purple flames on the wicks burned. One flame went out. She and the hooded one noticed. Under the snuffed wick had an "N" under it.

"Neflite is dead," she realized, remaining rather indifferent to the situation. "Rin's warning may be truthful."

"We still have three other generals to capture the boy," he confidently reminded. Back to the Savers, Erza stepped out of the car while everyone else watched, no Natsu in sight.

"There," she huffed while clapping her gauntlets. "Natsu should remain out until you get to Fiore." Lucy and Happy blinked to the result.

"Are you sure about this, Erza?" she pondered.

"Yeah, isn't Gray enough with the rest heading to New York or wherever they're going?" insisted Happy. To Erza, the team needed some extra help.

"The purpose is to save the dimensions from a revived, corrupted monarch," she clarified. "I hope Makarov can understand my leave of absence. Make sure Natsu reaches the guild safely." Giving in, Lucy accepted the process.

"I'll let the guild master know," she cleared up. "Take it easy... all of you." She knelt to pet Buizel and Chimchar after their hard work in fighting Neflite. "Including you two."

("Thanks, Lucy,") the monkey cooed.

("Yeah, thanks,") Buizel followed. Finally, Lucy stepped on to leave with the unconscious Natsu back to Fiore. The train continued by traveling through the canyon tracks remarkably untouched from the fighting. Ash recalled his Pokémon and Pikachu perched himself on Chad.

"Hey, was... Aquarius joking about seeing me as an example for Lucy's boyfriend?" he questioned. Erza shook her head, unsure what to believe.

"Who knows what goes through that Celestial Spirit's fish head," she shrugged. Not even Gray knew as he threw up his shoulders and arms.

"We should worry about the other generals before what mermaids think about," Ruby tried to get the team focused. "Ash, if you would." Ash brought out the watch and activated it by hitting the button. A flash later, the Savers and Erza were gone. Their next world to save...

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(Okay, you get to vote for the next world between the Soul Society, Beacon or a Pokémon Contest. Winning vote gets the next chapter and if you have a suggestion as to who should join like Erza, drop a line.)


	6. The Beacon of Jealousy?

_Chapter 6: The Beacon of Jealousy?_

* * *

A flash rippled the evening sky under a... broken moon? The castled structure surrounded by a concrete wall overlooked the confines of a town in the outskirt. The flash dimmed where the Time Savers arrived with their new addition, Erza Scarlet. Erza's outfit didn't undergo any change and Ruby returned to her neutral outfit. The rest? Each of the men looked like they were back in their original clothes with pads around their arms. "So... where are we?" Erza wondered. To Ruby, it's nostalgia.

"Beacon..." she hummed. "It's my school." Ruby returned to the academy. "I hope Headmaster Ozpin doesn't mind the extra company I brought... less the rest of my team." Ash and Erza glared at the structure, curious to what it served.

"This is a school?" wondered the redhead. "Looks more like a castle." Ash and Chad bobbed nods.

"Well, being the largest school in Vale, out-of-towners would say it's a castle." Ruby led the team in the academy in hopes that no one of Beryl's army had attacked it. On a tree, a voluptuous blond teenager read a booklet held by fingerless gloves. She wore a brown short-sleeve jacket over a yellow t-shirt while donning an orange scarf around her neck. A pair of dark-colored shorts under a partial brown skirt and leather boots over orange socks, her sea blue eyes found herself reading a nice little story. The group stayed the course heading to the structure when the blond spotted Ruby from the side of the booklet.

"Ruby?" she noticed before leaping down from the tree to make sure it was her. She dashed over and noticed the new company. Now she wasn't sure if it was the girl, thus she decided to call out. "Is that you, Ruby?!" Everyone turned to the blond calling out, Ruby smiling at who it was.

"Yang!" The blond got excited that Ruby called her out and hugged the brunette girl.

"Sis, what happened? And where did you go?" The flustered scythe-wielder wasn't sure if what she told Yang would be believable.

"Well, I was somehow transported from my return to the dorm and wound up on the outskirts of New York City where I met Chad Sado and Gray Fullbuster." She pointed to the two she named who introduced themselves. "After that, I met Ash Ketchum, although I chased after Pikachu first." Yang looked interested and came over to Ash and his Pikachu.

"Is it alright if I pet your mouse?" The request didn't seem like a bad idea. Pikachu crawled up on to Ash's head which Yang playfully itched his fur between the ears before petting around his electrical sacs and tickled under the chin. Pikachu let out a loving squeal before jumping in her arms. "I take it you feel happy after that?" Another cute chime from Pikachu told Yang that the two would be great friends.

"Hold on... When I met and held Pikachu, he shocked me." To Yang, her sister's comparison stated the obvious.

"Did you ask if he wanted a petting from you when you held it back at this New York?" Even Ash shot a glare to what Yang brought up.

"She does have a point," Chad sided. "No consideration to the mouse's reply." Realizing her mistake, Ruby palmed her face, feeling terrible about the fiasco.

"Okay, I'll admit," she grumbled. "It's cute. I goofed." Pikachu squeaked softly in a mean to say he forgave her. During that time, two other girls came to see what the commotion was about. One was a ponytail white-haired wearing the brightest blue dress and skirt that leveled at her thighs, an open jacket and shin-high boots. The other was a raven-haired wearing a bow-tie on top of her head. She also wore a black vest over a white sleeveless midriff and white shorts fastened to black stockings and short boots. Lastly, the black scarf that covered her neck.

"Ruby!" the white-hair called out. "Yang!" The call had all turn to the two newcomers. As soon as they saw the crowd, the white-haired looked perplexed. "What in the heck?!" The raven-haired looked as befuddled as the white-haired.

"What's going on, Ruby?" she asked. "And who are these boys? Trying to find someone better than your Vomit Boy?" A shake of Ruby's head wished it was true.

"Not quite, Blake," she denied. "I'm part of a new team. Unfortunately, they don't use the same acronym that Beacon uses. Ash, Chad and Gray make up the Battling Time Savers with me." Yang heard growling from Pikachu, sensing the mouse's defensive warning toward the new raven-haired.

"Pikachu, what is it?" wondered Ash. Seeing Pikachu snarling at Blake, Ruby realized the concern.

"I believe Pikachu knows about your cat ears," Yang pointed out. Blake removed the ribbon, cat ears popping up from her hair.

"That mouse has good senses," she awed. "Picking up my Faunus traits..." Undaunted, Blake stuck her hand out to Pikachu, trying to prove she's friendly. Pikachu nuzzled his nose to the hand, surveying the new girl. Accepting Blake, he ran up her arm and met her face-to-face. "Now you see what I am?" A smiling mouse confirmed the friendship. Apparently, Blake wasn't the only one taking an interest to who Ruby brought over.

"So who might you be?" pondered the white-haired to Ash while approaching him. He turned to the white-haired, now with his eyes glaring at hers.

"It's... Ash Ketchum," he replied nervously. The white-haired inched closer before cupping and pulling his face upward to get a better look.

"Better looking than Jaune, I'll say. Perhaps there's an opportunity we could go out sometime, if you're not already dating." Hearing the proposal, Yang and Gray came over to intervene.

"Slow down, Weiss," Yang advised as she dragged the white-haired a few feet back. "You're just meeting him for the first time."

"Besides, we came here to make sure the Black Moon doesn't take down Beacon or anywhere else," Gray added. "Did you even think Ash is looking right now for a love interest?" Weiss didn't want to give up on Ash that quickly.

"Even if he does have a girlfriend, I'd fight for his hand!"

"What if that girlfriend is Ruby?" This made the white-haired bearing a snowflake decoration on the back of her jacket blink, wondering if one of her teammates had claimed him.

"Then, _twice_ as hard!" The epitome of love at first sight. Instead of being proud about getting some love, Ash groaned at Weiss and her immediate interest to him, one even Erza though he should take stock in.

"You should feel happy that you're getting her support," she acknowledged. Not to Ash and he had a list of those people.

"How many more do I need to have?" he mulled. "Melody, Macey, Bianca, Calista, Anabel, Zoey... not to mention Sakura and Kuriko on the first go-around." The list astonished Erza and Gray. They wondered if maybe the girl of his dreams would be one of them or someone like those he listed.

"Do you have any preferences about who you want in a loved one?" he asked. More flustered with the question, Ash billowed a sigh, not wanting to add to his dilemma.

"Why should I have a preference when I'm not really interested in a girl, anyway?" Erza and Yang stood aghast to the response. Chad remained indifferent but understood Ash's reaction.

"It's better not to push someone to like another," he warned. "In the meantime, let's get inside and learn about the situation." Agreeing to the ploy, the group headed in the academy and despite the warning by Yang, Weiss remained close to Ash to the point that she even reached for his hand. She succeeded, somewhat, by hooking her index to his pinkie. In a hallway, a blond young man wearing a white breastplate under a black shirt and jeans, and a redhead young woman wearing a bronze strapless breastplate with a red cloth underneath ran down the hall. The woman had a red sash-skirt and bronze leggings while having a circular shield strapped to her back. They soon came to finding the group.

"Team RWBY!" called the blond. Ruby turned to the sound and found the two looking in a bit of panic.

"Pyrrha?" she named the redhead. "Vomit Boy? What's wrong?" The blond crashed on the floor with the name Ruby gave him.

"Would you stop calling me that?" he protested with a whine. Pyrrha knelt and patted Vomit Boy's back for comfort.

"Excuse Jaune," she pleaded. "The foyer! A blond man in a military uniform we don't know about attacked us out of nowhere. He's got Ren, Nora and Mr. Ozpin hostage." Those who knew what uniform Pyrrha mentioned realized the trouble ahead.

"Sounds like Jadeite's here," Gray determined. Ash and Ruby nodded, member of the Black Moon present. Their next course of action: eliminate the threat.

"Take us to the foyer, Pyrrha," Ruby ordered. "I know what he's doing here." Hinting a twitch of anger from her little sister, Yang suspected it's someone she knew but hated.

"I take it you fought with him before?" guessed the elder sister. A slight grin painted Ruby's face.

"I put a bullet in his shoulder. Besides, the Black Moon is after Ash, though we still don't get their motive." The notice put Weiss on a high enough alert to clutch Ash in a hug.

"No one is touching this boy except me!" she scowled. Ash sighed once more.

("That goes double for me!") Pikachu squeaked in warning. Acknowledging the trust, Pyrrha and Jaune led the troupe to the foyer. On arrival, Jadeite floated above a raven-haired young man in green and an orange-haired girl in a white blouse and pink skirt, both tied up. There was also a gray-haired man in black wearing glasses who laid unconscious on the floor. Eying Ruby, Jadeite covered the shoulder, the one shot by the lone female of the Savers as they escaped from New Jersey.

"So you finally came to save your friends," Jadeite murmured. "You can have them in exchange for the boy." All he wanted was Ash and not to resort to murderous intent. Weiss came forward, ready to defend her new boy-toy.

"There's no way you'll take someone from me," she denied as Ash unhooked his blades. Expecting the reply, Jadeite snapped his fingers. The walls of the foyer buckled and crumbled by strikes from black bears and scorpions. Pyrrha and Erza spun to the bears, a problem emitting.

"Impossible!" Pyrrha gasped as she snagged a javelin. "He can control Grimm?" Erza unsheathed a sword but felt it wasn't enough.

"At least he's resourceful to find a threat like Ursi and Death Stalkers," Yang awed a little.

"I think it's about time I wear different armor for this," she thought through. "Requip!" A flash surrounded Erza for a minute. When she reemerged, she now looked a lot like Pyrrha except that she had no skirt and her sword was colored dark red.

"Wait..." Jadeite gulped at seeing Erza's new look. "You can change your outfit on a drop of a hat?" To Gray, it was about time Erza performed this task.

"That's her magic of Requip," he clarified. "She has different armors and weapons for any situation presented." The convenient set of items now squared each side. The scorpions extended their pincers at the group. Chad intervened first after transforming his arms to the giant arms and forced the pincers closed, crushing them permanently. If Chad forgot about the stinger, Blake backed him up by firing a ribbon which wrapped around the tail. She yanked the stinger down where Pikachu didn't want to stay back, thus he ran up and leaped over Chad with a glowing tail. One flip, Pikachu's momentum slammed his tail on the rock-hard mask. The contact cracked the shell and rattled the head of the scorpion, buying enough time for Chad to grab the tail and jam the stinger through the crack left by Pikachu's shining tail. The scorpion shrilled in pain before collapsing in silence. Whether by the toxins in its tail or the impalement itself, the scorpion died. One bear received a sword from Erza to that head-plate, burning it in the process. The bear roared in pain as it tried to snuff the flames. Pyrrha didn't want to be left out, chucking her javelin and piercing it through the neck risen by Erza. Stuck, Erza helped Pyrrha by removing the javelin and tossing it back to its owner before she palmed the air but instead of just a little wind, a bomb of fire ripped through the wound. The bear, burned beyond recognition, fell dead. Ruby got a glimpse at Jadeite paying attention to the Grimm after her friends. That meant Nora, Len and Ozpin were in the open.

"Jaune, cover me!" she called out. Jaune allowed Gray and Yang to fend off some more of the bears as Jaune ran side-by-side with the scythe-wielder. Jadeite spotted the sneak but someone else spotted the discovery: Ash and Weiss. Not fighting a bear or scorpion, they saw Jadeite's eyes focused on Ruby and Jaune going after the fallen three. Glowing orbs formed in Jadeite's hands.

"He's been after me after my return to New York," he admitted as he clapped his blades, sparks emitting. "Time we put him in his place. Thunderbolt!" He punched the air and a stream of electrical rays shocked Jadeite. After the rays stopped, so was the general.

"See if you can pin him in my glyph," she instructed as she palmed the air and a circle with symbols of unknown origin appeared on the wall behind the general. The target Ash couldn't refuse to try and hit.

"One 'General Pin,' coming right up." He soon cocooned himself in a veil of water. It's Buizel's Aqua Jet. He dashed in the air as Jadeite recovered.

"I won't run from the likes of you!" he yelled as he gathered energy in his arms. Ash clicked his blades again. Throwing the orbs, Jadeite struck Ash's cocoon but what snuffed the water, Ash had a backup as he turned to a rolling flame. "What!?" Before Jadeite could fire again, the burning wheel collided and sent him in the circle with a sickening thud. Ash came out of the fire scorch-free. Jadeite couldn't move. However, he saw another scorpion and grinned. A scent of something off, Ash sensed the scorpion and tackled Weiss clear from the stinger. That pointy tail jabbed the ground where Weiss stood half of a second ago. While Ash did save her from the worst prick possible, it broke the glyph and freed Jadeite. Unfortunately, he got up in front of Ruby, and her scythe was cocked. She swung and hooked Jadeite before flinging him in the middle of the pile. Seeing the hurled Jadeite, Ash caught him by the shoulder as Weiss created another glyph on the floor as the scorpion scuttled up. The shoulder tackle propelled Jadeite to fall on the glyph appearing on the floor. Stuck again, Jadeite couldn't move and Ash huddled on top of him while making sure not to step on the same glyph.

"Now don't move," he taunted. "All you'll feel is a poke and it's all over." He then looked up and saw the stinger diving at his head. Now Weiss had a turn saving Ash, a little payback. She yanked Ash's head away as Jadeite screamed at his impending, and swift doom. Upon impact back and turning back to Beryl's chamber, another candle blew out. This candle had a "J" imprinted. Remembering Neflite's candle going out, the sign revealed another blow to the Black Moon, and Beryl wasn't pleased. In Illpalazzo's chamber below New York, Botan felt another evil presence departing back to the afterlife through... some spiritual channel as Illpalazzo, Koenma, Excel and Hyatt looked on.

"Another general is compromised," she reported. Hyatt sighed in relief, Excel cheered and the guys remained rather indifferent.

"That's two generals, Lord Illpalazzo," Koenma surveyed. "I don't know how but your team formation has been impressive." Excel couldn't hold her excitement if she wanted to.

"Of course his team formation works!" she shouted. "ACROSS would never allow a mistake like this if Hail Lord Illpalazzo runs the show!" A sly smile from Illpalazzo was his response.

"Still, I have an uneasy feeling that a terrible force is actually pulling the strings," he suspected. This had everyone turn to the lord of ACROSS.

"I understand that Queen Beryl's resurrection and return to power is damning but if you're correct..." pondered Koenma before being interrupted by a familiar call.

"I hope you're not suspecting me about this, old friend!" grunted Kabapu as he, Watanabe and a brunette young man entered the chamber. The brunette glanced around the underground room, admiring the structure.

"Nice digs!" he whistled. "You get cable or satellite down here?" While the brunette admired the layout, Watanabe came forward to Hyatt with relief of his own.

"Miss Ayasugi," he called as he reached Hyatt. "Are you doing okay? I know it's kinds cold and damp here and especially with him around." Hyatt offered a slight smile to the young gray-haired.

"I feel just fine," she hummed. "In fact, I'm here in support of both the Spirit Detectives and the Time Savers."

"Speaking of," Kabapu interrupted. "How are our foursome doing in the removal of Beryl's forces?"

"Halfway complete, old friend," Illpalazzo updated. "We hope to see them after they eradicate the four generals." Kabapu bowed somewhat delighted to hear the good progress.

"They have underestimated the forces that not only the foursome have but the friends who are willing to support. I'm surprised that you don't use them to terrorize F-City/F-Prefecture." The brunette shook his head, not wanting the thought.

"How would kids be terrorizing on a city?" he dumbly asked.

"Easy, Mr. Iwata. These 'kids' possess unheralded strengths including Ash's Aura which he can channel through his body... and that Aura can do massive destruction." Iwata stuttered at the thought. The youngest, albeit a veteran, having a power to demolish cities with a power source called Aura.

"Come on, Boss. Don't joke with a serious face like that." That is if he was joking...

"No joke, dude!" Excel excitedly corrected. "Excel's seen it and damn if that power gets out of hand! He can destroy Hollywood if given the chance!" The poor brunette went pale.

"Crap..." Let's leave them be for now. Back at Beacon, Ozpin exited the Nurse's Office with Ruby. Jaune felt anxious to know the conditions of his team.

"Professor Ozpin, how are Ren and Nora?" he wondered. Ozpin brought out a clipboard and read the information.

"They have minor injuries," he reported. "All they'll need is rest." A heavy relief billowed from the gasps of the Savers and Beacon students.

"That's a better feeling than what happened to Jadeite and that Death Stalker," shivered Yang. "Gruesome!" Pikachu agreed as he sat on Blake's lap.

"So now that you're done with this spot," Pyrrha addressed. "Where are you heading next?" The only two areas would be Chad's and Ash's.

"We'll only know where the watch takes us," Gray shrugged.

"Then I suppose I'll excuse you to fend off what the Black Moon has in store," Ozpin allowed. Before they could get up to leave Beacon, someone had a suggestion.

"I won't let you leave without me, Ruby," Weiss volunteered. Ruby irked a step back from the offer.

"Weiss..." she gulped. Weiss got up but instead of lecturing Ruby, she faced Ash.

"Besides, it's apparent that you don't want this brave and cunning young man like I do." To prove her point, she leaned in and locked Ash's lips. Someone's got a crush.

"Was that really necessary?" asked Chad. Once broken but vowed in the participation, Weiss joined the Savers and Erza as part of the process to stop Beryl's reign. With a click of the watch, the flash lit up within the increased gang. They left. Where did the group vanish to now?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...  
(Okay, the Ash/Weiss pairing was influenced by a picture I found on DeviantART with the two together, I couldn't help but try it like that. I don't know if I'll do this ship in the future but it gives me more material to work with. Anyway, Soul Society or Pokémon Contest? Where do you want the next chapter in?)


	7. Soul of the Death

_Chapter 7: Soul of the Death_

* * *

A new land discovered through the watch and the rifts. The land looked like a village of duplexes connected to form a maze. The Time Savers arrived with a flash, along with latest addition: Weiss from Beacon Academy. Chad was back in his attire from when they met in New York but the rest had drastic wardrobe changes. Everyone else wore a samurai uniform with loose pants, though they did have a color scheme to go with each. Ash wore all black; Gray wore... well, gray; Ruby also wore black with red inside; Erza had a bluish-silver touch and Weiss had white with shades of blue. Pikachu remained the same, however. "It looks like the Soul Society," Chad believed. This concluded a theory to at least one member.

"This is where you're from?" asked Erza.

"Not exactly. My home is Karakura Town. The Soul Society is home to Shinigami or Soul Reapers. I know a few from here." However, Chad didn't want to wait. "We better get moving. Soul Reapers aren't exactly friendly to intruders, no matter the reason." They needed to move but someone else was curious about one more item.

"Okay but can you explain why we need to wear these awful robes?" argued Weiss before lifting her leg, revealing straw sandals. "And these shoes? How the heck am I suppose to run with them?" Palming her face, Ruby anticipated Weiss losing her cool about her change of clothes.

"I knew she'd react to this," she groaned as she shook her head. Chad could explain but he didn't want to stay in one place.

"Let's move before real Soul Reapers show up," he advised. All started running in a fixed direction with Chad leading the charge. They rounded corners and passed a foursome, three in the same garb as most of the time savers. There was an orange-red haired young man, a raven-haired girl about Ash's size, a redhead man with a palm tree-style ponytail to go with a headband and a busty young redhead woman wearing a pink blouse and white windbreaker pants.

"Was that Chad?" the orange-redhead wondered.

"If so, who's he with?" the raven-haired questioned.

"Quit squawking and let's go find out before other Soul Reapers get to them first," the other redhead man ordered. They gave chase just as the Savers stopped on a fork in the road.

"So where exactly are we heading to?" asked Gray. Chad glanced around the corners, making sure no Soul Reapers came looking for them.

"The main building to warn Head General Yamamoto about the threat of the Black Moon," he pointed out to the tallest structure. "We can also watch out for the next general from his roost." Erza and Ruby understood Chad's ploy.

"I see," Erza nodded. "We get the drop on where the general is before he strikes." The plan seemed laid out.

"I hope you're not going to kill Head Captain Yamamoto," commanded the redhead with the headband. All turned to see the second group. Chad realized who they were.

"Yamamoto isn't the target, Renji," he corrected the headband redhead. "And thanks for finding us, Ichigo." The orange-redhead wasn't too proud of the compliment.

"You need help with what you're dealing with?" he pondered. "We'd want to know who your team is and the situation." Chad could use Ichigo's help and introduced his new team.

"So it's not some Arancarr or a rouge Soul Reaper but an alien with a penchant to take this kid?" the raven-haired guessed.

"Pretty much, Rukia," Chad replied. "Our team may be a little unorthodox but we need any help if we need to stop Queen Beryl." The idea of a queen chasing a child like Ash had Weiss inch closer to the boy.

"If anyone is getting their hands on my Ashy-Poo, they have another thing coming," she defended. Ruby shook her hand-covered head in disgust.

"We get it, Weiss," she groaned. "No need to rub it in. Jeez, you're starting to act like Yang sometimes... I swear." The rest could laugh if there wasn't a task at hand.

"I think it's a good idea to inform the Head General about this general," Ichigo trusted Chad. "Let's head to his headquarters before whoever this guy is to take you and wipe out the Soul Reapers." Leading, Ichigo pursued the headquarter in hope to stop the next general. Speaking of, the silver-haired general hovered from above, eying different people wearing similar black samurai garbs. If looking for Ash was this difficult, why not ask around?

"I know that boy's around here, somewhere," he mulled. "I suppose this is the definition of a 'needle in a haystack.'" He vanished before any of the garbs noticed. Inside a structure in the middle of the town, the group met up with an old man wearing the same garb but mostly white with Japanese symbols on his back. The bald and wrinkled man had a braided white beard while holding himself up with a sheath. Beside his chair was another raven-haired woman about Ash's height wearing a similar robe to the old man with twin braided pigtails.

"This is an interesting issue you presented, Ichigo Kurosaki," the old man pondered. "You also brought the Ryoka to me before other Soul Reapers captured and perhaps execute them for trespassing in the Seiretei. Then again, a substitute Soul Reaper being the one to report the matter is comical." No one laughed to the seriousness of the issue presented.

"I'm sure you worry about the safety of the Soul Reapers should he appear," Rukia reminded. "If this Black Moon general does strike..." The old man scoffed to the concern of the issue.

"It's highly unlikely that this general of the Black Moon can fend off hundreds of Soul Reapers, let alone the squad captains. Though I find it somewhat disturbing that he or she would be after such a young man." Ash felt the old man's concern as the redhead girl had a theory as to what they were after.

"Say, does Ash have a special power similar to Kidō?" she asked. To Ash, there was one source he thought up.

"My aura, though I don't know what Kidō is all about," he answered. The old man lifted an eyebrow.

"Aura? Never heard of such a power." That's when he remembered the woman by his side. "Captain Suì-Fēng, I'm sure you cant detect what this child's energy source contains."

"Of course, Master Yamamoto," the woman agreed before approaching Ash. "This won't take long." Ash nodded to the warning. "Now close your eyes and clear your mind." Following, Ash shut his eyes with a deep breath. Suì-Fēng, then, put the palm of her hand above the bridge of the nose. That's when her eyes fixated, changing to an atmosphere where everything was black... except for two radiating forms of energy. Her energy flowed through her hand to Ash which a glowing sphere of blue spun like a basketball on a Harlem Globetrotter's finger. _'This? Is this... aura? It's small __but..__. An energy source of this could dev__a__stat__e __cities is in the body of this child?' _She removed her hand from his head before returning to Yamamoto's side.

"Did you find aura?" Suì-Fēng wasn't sure what it was she found in Ash.

"I'm not sure but it's definitely a new energy source. It's dormant but I wouldn't be surprised if it explodes with energy." This disturbed Yamamoto in believing the energy source was Beryl's target.

"You make it sound like whatever Ash has, it trumps anything the rest of us carry," Ichigo believed. It wasn't farfetched...

"It's important that these Black Moon fiends must be halted before they can obtain his mysterious energy source, regardless of its origin or power," Yamamoto warned. Renji groaned, unwilling to listen to his head general.

"I'm a Soul Reaper, not a babysitter," he protested lowly. "I mean, seriously! How bad of a threat is this Black Moon general suppose to be?" Famous last words before chaos ensues...

"That last general used the Grimm from around Beacon Academy," Weiss informed. "What basic foes do you got?" The question had Rukia turn to her.

"We Soul Reapers protect humans and Wholes from Hollows," she answered. "They're corrupted spirits and can only be purified by slicing the masks they wear and sending the souls to the afterlife with this. Ichigo?" Hearing the call, Ichigo pulled a huge sword from his back that looked like an oversized butcher knife.

"This is a Zanpakutō," he named. "They do vary in shapes and sizes but they have the same capability of exercising the soul from the Hollow." Interesting tool... That's when Erza peered out the opening in front of Yamamoto, finding trouble.

"I believe we're about to see them," she growled. "Holes are opening in the sky!" Numerous black holes opened above the village. Multiple Soul Reapers within the walls glared to the sky.

"About time they arrived..." the silver-haired general huffed as he looked up as well before looking down at the scramble of the garbed soldiers. Ash and Weiss reached the ledge and found the silver-haired. To Ash remembering Koenma's information on the generals and the process of elimination to the other generals lost near Fiore and in Beacon, he knew who stood against them.

"That's gotta be Malachite," he assumed. Weiss blinked at how Ash figured out who the general could be.

"Did you fight him before?" she suspected.

"No, we fought the others. This also means Zoicite is in my world." Spoiler alert! Yamamoto watched enormous black creatures spilling out of the holes. Regardless of shapes and sizes, all had a hollow white mask. So that's where the name "Hollow" comes from... The rain of creatures fell as feet developed under them. They landed and started swarming the village. Many Soul Reapers armed themselves with Zanpakutō swords. Malachite then turned to see his target with Weiss. Now a battle was on the horizon.

"Of course," he realized. "Only the target would wear different colors." Two Hollows pursued Ash as he and Weiss pulled out their weapons. Gray rushed up with glowing balls of light in each hand.

"Ice-Make Wall!" he shouted. A wall of ice formed once again, the Hollows crashing face... uh, mask-first. Gray just started as he created ice spears before chucking them through the masks. They reeled back from the blows and the ice shattered. Ash clapped his blades and flung a gust of wind, blowing the ice and piercing the shards to the eyes. Rukia rushed in and flashed her Zanpakutō, slicing the masks. The Hollows fizzled after the combined attack and vanished. A ruse. Malachite took advantage of the attack and nailed Rukia with a violet blade, propelling her straight down in a crushing thud.

"Rukia!" the redhead girl cried out. Malachite chucked blades out toward the Savers as Weiss stabbed her saber to the floor which sprang ice pillars, catching some as more got tossed.

"Roar, Zabimaru!" yelled Renji as he brought out his Zanpakutō which morphed to have spikes down the sharp side. He swung and deflected the blades when his sword behaved like a steel whip. That deflected the blades and bought time for Ruby to convert her scythe to a rifle. She started firing, Malachite blocked each shot. She reverted back to Scythe Mode as the general charged in, blades clashing in the center.

"I will have the boy!" he announced before shoving Ruby back. Ichigo had his shot, pulling and swinging his giant knife.

"You have a lot of guts stepping in Hueco Mundo like that to bring over a fleet of Hollows!" he snarled.

"All the more use to obtain the target!" With one push, Malachite overpowered Ichigo and threw his balance off-kilter. He raced in to finish the job when Weiss slashed the blade away. Both sides reset before trading strikes, a minute long duel. One misstep nearly ended the white-haired girl but rolled away at the last second.

"Okay, the longer I'm in this, the less I like it," she complained. A couple more Hollows stormed in the office and one set its sights on Weiss. That's when the redhead jumped in front of them.

"Don't worry!" she promised. "I won't let him hurt you." Weiss blinked at the redhead willing to guard her.

"How exactly?" Especially with Malachite charging in. One part had the redhead's hairpin glowing.

"Hinagiku, Lily, Baigon! Santen Kesshun! I reject!" Beams fired from the hairpin and formed a triangle in front of the two as Malachite swung. Instead of striking the girl, it bounced off a veil of yellow energy. The deflection staggered Malachite a few feet... and toward Ash with sparking elbow blades. With a backhand, Ash sliced open Malachite's uniform. He followed with a shocking stick to the enemy's back, electricity coursing through his body. The blow flung the silver-haired forward and crashed head-first at the redhead's veil. Stunned and perhaps concussed, Malachite lied unconscious. "That wasn't what Santen Kesshun was supposed to do but I guess it worked." Chad got his black arm ready as he snagged Malachite by the neck.

"That's alright, Orihime," he muttered before walking to the balcony opening and hurling Malachite far away, looking like he would clear the wall. As he dusted his hands from the throw, Rukia realized the direction of Chad's toss.

"That's Squad 13's base, right?" she pointed out. The Savers blinked at the information from the small Reaper. Malachite landed with a sickening thud far outside Yamamoto's headquarter. Feeling the effects still, he tried vainly to get to his feet but then came forward another Soul Reaper. He wore about the same garb as Suì-Fēng but the long raven-haired man had a zigzag decoration in those locks.

"So, you are the Ryoka that attacked the head captain," he assumed. Malachite looked up as the man dropped his Zanpakutō, blade first. Instead of it clanging the ground, it phased through. "Scatter... Senbozakura." What arisen from the disappearing blade was a cloud of pink blossom petals. They fluttered around the man before flying at Malachite. He couldn't move out of the way and soon became encased in the petals. He then felt hundreds of slashes from these petals all over his body as he let out a blood-curdling scream. That scream snuffed another candle in Beryl's chambers and she looked on. Now, there was one candle left. That lone candle had "Z" imprinted. One general remained. On the road escaping New York, May and Becky slept in the muscle car. Something weighed on the driver, Rally.

'Something smells,' she thought. 'But what?' She wondered where she needed to go: back home to Chicago or back to New York City? 'They need our help. They need to save that city... and the police aren't sure what to do, let alone what they could face.' She whipped a U-Turn with a drift that woke the other two as she raced back to New York.

"Rally, what the hell?!" yelped Becky. "Why are we going back?!" Rally focused on the road.

"They still need our help. I know they're tough but I have that feeling." Neither girl could process what intuition Rally followed but they were there to save Ash. Speaking of, back at the Soul Society, Yamamoto praised the Soul Reapers for protecting their village from Malachite and the Hollows he brought. Ash knew there was one more general to take out and one more area to protect: his.

"Fiore, Beacon and the Soul Society are all okay," he muttered. "I gotta make sure Zoicite doesn't trash my world." Weiss and Ichigo saw the stress painting Ash's face. They knew he felt troubled.

"What's wrong, Ash?" she asked with concern. Looking up, the worried face bothered Ash.

"We still have one more general and no doubt she's waiting for us back in my world. Aside from that, I haven't heard from the voice for a long time. I don't know if Beryl quieted her or worse." That voice that kept calling for help. To Weiss however, Ash had a girlfriend waiting in the wings and got upset.

"Wait, so you already have a girlfriend?! You double-crossing-"

"I don't know who she is or what she looks like. All I know is that she's been calling for help. From all I know, it could be that Moon Princess that Koenma told us about that had been captured by Beryl." The assumption told Weiss that she might not have an interest to the mysterious girl.

"Perhaps you'll know who it is when you beat this Beryl," Renji advised. Ash trusted his word and nodded. "Which is why I'm coming with you." This took the three by surprise. Renji, following Erza and Weiss, wanted to help Ash and the Savers with their ordeal. Ichigo didn't like how it would turnout.

"No way, Renji!" he protested. "I'm not gonna let someone like you take the glory!" Renji hated the argument brought on by Ichigo.

"Like you're one to talk! And besides, don't you have sisters to take care of?"

"Don't bring my family in this, Tattoo Head!"

"So you resort to horrible name-calling? I thought you were smarter than that!" Finally, Erza shoved her sword between the two.

"Enough!" she ordered. Both Reapers turned to the lady knight as she retracted her arm. "Now isn't the time to argue. If it makes all of us feel better, why not both of you come?" Now the Reapers pondered Erza's suggestion. This would stop them from yelling at each other to death.

"Well, this does involve Chad," Renji reminded. "Zangetsu and Zabimaru could be useful in whatever worlds they need help with." An argument that Ichigo actually understood.

"And if it means getting someone revived back to where she belongs, a couple Soul Reapers may do the job," he added. "Let's go for it." Renji nodded, their teamwork ready to aid the Savers. Rukia heard the debate, wanting to wish them luck.

"Renji, Ichigo," she called. Both spun heads to the little woman. "Try not to upset the rest in their mission." Both acknowledged the raven-haired Reaper's wish.

"Wasn't willing to. We'll be back." With two new volunteers, Ash opened the portal as the rest watched on. Ichigo and Renji joined the Savers as they made their way to their next place. What awaited them in Ash's world?

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	8. Committing Sin-noh

_Chapter 8: Committing Sin-noh_

* * *

The team growing, the Savers now appeared outside an arena with their latest recruits, Soul Reapers Ichigo and Renji. Ash was back in his original gear but everyone else had significant changes. The Soul Reapers wore black jackets and tighter black pants while Renji's headband was now a white baseball cap, all bearing an emblem that looked like Ash's Pokéball. Chad didn't look too different aside from a black undershirt beneath his lavender spring jacket with the Pokéball emblem as well. Erza now donned a gray jacket over a blue blouse and blue jeans. Gray didn't change that much either, aside from the Pokéball emblem on his jacket. Ruby now wore a lighter black jacket atop a red blouse and black shorts though still wearing the nylons and boots but did gain a red baseball cap like Ash's. Weiss' top didn't change much but her skirt had been substituted for some white windbreaker pants and boots were high-tops. It took a little while for the group to gather their bearings. "So now where the hell are we?" wondered Renji. "And what the hell are with these damn clothes? I'm not complaining, it's just... they feel so loose and comfortable."

"I was about to say the same thing, minus the 'hell' and 'damn' parts," Erza agreed. That's when Weiss found a poster which helped them with an understanding.

"What's this?" she asked.

VEILSTONE CITY POKÉMON CONTEST TODAY

To know that the poster addressed Pokémon meant this was Ash's home world. "So this is where my Ashy-Poo is from," she concluded, much to Ruby's paining chagrin.

"Okay, it's official," she grumbled. "I may act brash and a bit hotheaded but she's making me look behaved." Weiss heard Ruby's complaint, coming over with a finger to her face.

"Hey, if he was defending you over me, you wouldn't be arguing about it. Besides, there's not another girl worthy of this young man than me." Now Ichigo felt the bragging being a bit far from Weiss.

"We get it, you like Ash enough that you want him in the same bed," he groaned as he approached. "But who knows. There might be someone for Ash, and perhaps someone for you, too." Now Weiss jabbed her finger on Ichigo's chest.

"You think so, huh? Who would he be?" As if called out of hiding...

"Ash!" another young man yelled. All turned to see a tanned spiky-haired brunette man in a brown vest over a green t-shirt and slacks. When his squinted eyes found him with his new group, a sense of deja-vu troubled him. "Here we go again." Ash found the brunette, surprised about being located.

"Brock!" he called over. Brock came to see all the hubbub surrounding Ash.

"So you've been called back to duty in saving the worlds, I see." That's when he found Weiss and passed Ash... and a few others to reach her, hearts in his eyes. "Be still my aching heart! The girl of my dreams has fallen in my sights!" He snagged her hands, bewildering the white-haired. "A pure snow has cooled my search for the one I want to call my own." Unfortunately to Brock...

"Sorry, big guy but I've declared Ash as my significant," she turned down. Brock stood shock at the denial.

"Another one I came too late for..." Everyone looked befuddled with Brock's deadpan, defeated appearance.

"Am I missing something?" questioned Gray. To Ash, this happened all the time.

"He wants a girl for himself," he clarified. All wasn't lost just yet as he saw Erza, doing the same thing when confronting Weiss.

"A crimson bevy of beauty can help the heart of loneliness this breeder has long suffered." Erza wasn't sure whether to take Brock seriously or laugh.

"I beg your pardon?" she tried to understand.

"A woman with that fiery complexion needs hands to ease the frustration you pain from!" Before she could reply, someone... or something helped Erza. Glowing purple fingers punched Brock's side which paralyzed him, releasing his grip on Erza. Those fingers came from a bluish frog with its midsection taped up. Once Brock fell, the frog dragged him away. Again, Ash has seen it before and sighed.

"Poor dude," Renji shrugged. "I'm surprised that frog didn't do that to you or Weiss." Erza dusted her hands free of whatever Brock put on them.

"That's Croagunk for you," Ash summarized. "Anyway, that last general is probably inside. Let's make sure she doesn't ruin the contest." All three entered to a halfway packed house with a stage at the bottom. With them as a group and in the second deck, they had a good view if Zoisite attacked.

"So how does a... Pokémon Contest work, Ash?" asked Chad.

"A contest consists of two stages: the Appeal Stage and the Battle Stage. The Appeal Stage is where the coordinator shows the Pokémon's beauty and grace. The eight with the highest scores from the judges compete in the Battle Stage where the coordinators have five minutes to lower the other's score by damage or making the Pokémon's moves against them." Not a lot to think about. Renji didn't think it was worth waiting.

"Sounds boring," he yawned. "I'd rather be hunting Arancarr than watching little creatures in a dog show." Pikachu snarled at Renji in offense to it.

"Maybe what you can do is patrol to make sure there isn't a threat to this building," Ichigo suggested. On that idea, Renji exited his seat and headed to the door.

"That actually sounds like a good idea. About time that genius came to light." Renji left and Brock took his spot.

"What's up-" he wanted to ask.

"It's Renji," Ichigo interrupted. "Don't get use to it. By the way, what brings you and Ash to this contest?" Brock sat down to help discuss the matter.

"Dawn's one of our friends and is following her mother's footsteps in becoming a Pokémon Coordinator." This enlightened some of Ash's new friends.

"The old 'like mother, like daughter,'" Gray simplified. Once the crowd gather to their seats, the lights dimmed and the stage became the focus with a couple of spotlights on the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a female voice rang out. "Welcome to the Veilstone City Pokémon Contest!" The curtain rose to show four silhouettes. The spotlight hit a young auburn-haired woman wearing a yellow jacket over a peach blouse and skirt. "I'm Marian, your emcee. With me, as always, our three judges!" Marian stepped aside and the first silhouette approached, showing a gray-haired man in a red suit. "The first judge is the Pokémon Contest Committee Director, Mr. Contesta!"

"The Veilstone City Pokémon Contest," he repeated the event's name. "Our coordinators should rock." The next silhouette approached, revealing a stout brunette in a gray tuxedo.

"Next is the Pokémon Fan Club President, Mr. Sukizo!"

"The Veilstone City Contest," he copied. "Remarkable!" The last silhouette came up, only to have a young pink-haired woman in a rather cute pink/white nurse's uniform.

"The last of our judges, Veilstone City's very own, Nurse Joy!"

"Let's give all our coordinators a rousing applause," she acknowledged. When the three judges reached podiums...

"Okay, the crowd's set, the judges are set, our coordinators are ready... Let the Veilstone Pokémon Contest begin!" The Savers and most of the help watched different boys and girls with numerous creatures show off abilities that only those in the Nosebleed Section could only do. "Now for our next coordinator... from Twinleaf Town, it's Dawn!" On the stage came a blue-haired girl in a pink ball dress.

"Aipom, spotlight!" she summoned as she threw up a blue ball with a gold star sticker. The ball opened and out came a purple monkey with a paw on the tail with a shower of stars. "Now, Aipom... Spin and-" The spotlights shut off unexpectedly. "Huh?" No one expected the lights to go out... or hear a familiar laugh to the Savers.

"She couldn't make her appearance any sooner, could she?" shook Ruby. Zoisite appeared in a cloud of petals, hovering over Dawn who looked perplexed.

"You remind me of a Sailor Scout, if not younger," she assumed before launching a flurry of petals. Dawn and Aipom dove away to escape the flurry.

"What are you talking about?!" she pleaded while the crowd dispersed toward the exits. Watching the crowd from the hall entrance, Renji realized the trouble going on... sort of.

"Fire drill?" he guessed. With the crowd gone, Zoisite glanced back to find Ash with Weiss still hanging over him.

"He has new guardians... Ash Ketchum!" she sneered. Dawn glared up to see Ash grabbing his blades, ready for combat. Her back turned, Dawn pointed Aipom to attack.

"Focus Punch!" she ordered. Aipom leaped to the air with a glowing white fist of a tail. Zoisite heard it and palmed the air, a burst of power blowing back Aipom to the stage.

"Aipom!" shrieked Ash and Dawn. Zoisite now focused back on Dawn for her sneak attack.

"You dare try a cowardly attack?" she snarled. "Then die! Zoy!" A powerful blast of force "threw" Dawn and Aipom from the front to the back of the stage where another redhead girl caught the two before they hit the back. The girl wore a maroon suit, no dress. Zoisite grew annoyed with the new addition.

"It's Zoey!" figured Ash. Erza tapped Ash on the shoulder, a plan in mind.

"If you want to save your friend, let's go," she suggested before leading him to the stairs down to the first level.

"Dawn, are you okay?" wondered Zoey. Dawn found the redhead holding her to make sure she wasn't hurt.

"Zoey!" she gasped. "How's Aipom?" The Pokémon looked shook up but okay. The group reached the lower sections to fight Zoisite.

"Zoey, get Dawn and Aipom to safety!" demanded Ash.

"Okay!" she obeyed and gathered Dawn to which all three left.

"She said that I remind her of a scout!" recalled Dawn. "But what did she mean?"

"I don't know and I'm not willing to risk my neck finding out!" Now it was the Black Moon General against a team.

"You should really start running with our team as it is," Gray warned. Zoisite scoffed the threat.

"All I see are a bunch of amateurs," she teased with her arm sticking out. "If you want to mock me, show me some bravado. Zoy!" A force of energy knocked everyone but Ruby back as she anchored her scythe to a row. Ash was flung to the façade of the upper deck where he hung out, literally. Everyone else scattered from the force, landing in different seats. "Now, I saw you whip up that fire to burn the petals." She formed a fireball in the palm of her hand. "As you can see, so can I!" She fired her flaming orb at Ash when a dust of ice and snow formed around him. The blast looked bad. Each side of the deck got scorched from an explosion with the fireball. When the smoke cleared, however... a shield of ice appeared. Ash stood by Weiss below while Ruby converted her scythe to rifle mode and shot away. Zoisite remained quick in the air with each shot whizzing by. That's when the petals converted to spikes. They rained on the group, scattering them some more and even pierced the ice shield. The shield cracked and crumbled now exposing sitting ducks. Suddenly, a voice entered Ash's head.

"_Hey, Ash!" _a young woman's voice called out. It wasn't that girl calling for help but it was a Zoisite Ash recognized. He looked around while keeping out of sight of Zoisite.

"Kuriko?" he guessed. Weiss heard Ash call a name but wondered why he said that.

"_You have the watch again! Open the portal! Yuna, Kazuki and I will help out!"_ To Ash, backup was near. Somehow, Ichigo and Erza got their swords to fight Zoisite. Ash came up with a plan to save everyone.

"Chad, Gray, Ruby! Keep her busy!" Ash was ready to go when Weiss snagged his shoulder. To Ash, Weiss continued to worry about him. "Let's go." A nod from Weiss and both sprinted around the outside pathway. The two stayed low to the ground where even the white-haired kept her hand on his waist. Zoisite searched around for any sign of Ash. Weiss tugged the curtain, perhaps a means for leverage. Ash had a different idea and clicked his blades. "Let's spray her a bit..." Weiss placed her hands on top of Ash's before he fired jets of water, spraying the fiend. Before she knew what soaked her, the jets started freezing up. She couldn't move but Ash knew it was a matter of time before she broke free. Ash grabbed the watch and activated it. A portal soon opened just as Zoisite thawed out of her cube.

"That dirty little..." she seethed. She was about to get more trouble.

"So you're the one who kidnapped Rin!" another young woman spoke out. Hearing, Zoisite twisted to see a young messy brunette man in a white t-shirt with sky blue stripes on the sleeves and jeans, a pigtail pink-haired girl in a light blue t-shirt and matching skirt wearing white knee-socks and dress shoes, and a voluptuous blond young woman in a white midriff and blue slacks while sporting stiletto high-heels. The pink-haired stepped up. "Now you want Ash Ketchum? We won't let you!" Zoisite didn't feel intimidated by the threat.

"Really? Considering I removed the biggest threat to your school, what can you do about it?"

"They don't need to..." Ichigo answered as he and Erza jumped on stage, literally.

"That's for us to deal with!" shouted the redhead before delivering twin slashes at the surrounded general. The strike propelled Zoisite at the new kids.

"Let her have it, Yuna!" the blond allowed. The pink-haired wound a miniature tornado as the blond pelted Zoisite with multiple slips of paper which had multiple Japanese symbols on it. Those held the general in place and weighed her to the stage floor.

"No way!" grunted Zoisite. "This can't be!" Yuna fired the tornado and entrapped the general in a whirlwind. She couldn't move again.

"Ginji Childran!" The slips morphed to samurai soldiers and sliced her from neck to toe. The tornado vanished but waiting in the wing was the scythe.

"Allow me!" spoke Ruby before she swung. All Zoisite could do was watch. SLASH! The Beryl's chambers, the last candle went out. Needless to say how upset the queen became.

"They all failed," the hooded one stated the obvious.

"Looks like it's my turn to make the next move," Beryl concluded. Back at the contest, the blond was excited to see Ash and wrapped her arms around him.

"Okay, Kuriko," he settled. "I get that you miss me." One who didn't appreciate Kuriko's welcoming embrace...

"Get off him, tramp!" shouted Weiss as she shoved her away from Ash.

"And who must you be?" groaned Kuriko.

"Weiss Schnee, Beacon Academy student and Ash's girlfriend." Kuriko snorted a chuckle from Weiss, not intimidated in the least.

"Really? You, Ashy-Man's new dame?" Kuriko let out a small laugh before grinning in Weiss' face. "Or is it that you don't want to be alone in your little 'Beacon'?"

"Excuse me?!" Hearing enough, Ash snagged both shoulders of each girl and pushed them apart.

"That's enough, you two!" he ordered. "We've got bigger problems than whoever wants me to date." His statement had Gray and Renji forward to acknowledge Ash.

"While I am jealous that Ash has a couple of hotties hanging around him," Renji murmured. "He has that point. Queen Beryl should know by now her generals are gone. She could make her move on New York at any moment, or the entire world while we've been busy playing peacemakers in our respective dimensions." No one had an argument to Renji's view. Kazuki, Yuna, Zoey and Dawn came back out to see the chaos. Dawn now wore a black tank-top, pink frilly skirt and pink boots. Zoey wore an orange vest over a maroon long-sleeve shirt and slacks.

"All the coordinators are accounted for," Kazuki reported. "No serious injuries." Kuriko nodded to the news.

"What in the world happened?" questioned Dawn. "It looks like some wild Ursaring fired Hyper Beams throughout the arena." Ichigo shook his head, not because he didn't know what Dawn referred...

"Trust me, it's worse," he groaned. Pikachu hopped on Yuna's shoulder to see what all the fuss was about. Watching Kuriko and Weiss struggle for Ash's hand couldn't keep the pink-haired or the Pokémon's eyes away.

"Well, with all the generals down, we can hit this... New York City again," Erza repeated. To the coordinators, they seemed left in the dark... for a second.

"Sounds like a fun ride!" spoke Zoey. All turned to the redhead coordinator and Dawn's lifesaver. "I could use a step outside the Pokémon World for a bit." Dawn wasn't sure about seeing her lifesaver go with Ash.

"Zoey, why do you wanna go with-" she wanted to ask but Zoey cut her off.

"Dawn, I'm saying this for your own good..." She placed a hand on Dawn's shoulder for support. "Head back to the Pokémon Center with Brock. I don't know what damage that crazy flying woman did to you and Aipom but I don't want you to risk your health." The words she spoke came to heart. She didn't want to see either Ash or Zoey go.

"I suppose so." A new teammate to the lineup, Kuriko had an offer that she'd bet no one would refuse.

"I have an idea," she voiced. "We can head back across to the Aoi Academy where we can give you a night to recharge yourselves. Food, massages, spas, a bed to plan your attack and sleep..." Sounded convincing but someone had to play spoiler.

"As nice as it sounds, we're pressed for time," Chad denied. "The Spirit Detectives should have found Beryl's hideout by now. Once we arrive, it's an all-out attack." If Chad's words weren't enough...

"...And besides, you would do this to get Ashy-Poo under _your_ bedsheets!" bellowed Weiss. Kuriko never budged.

"I'm just repaying someone who saved my life and my dignity from demons during the first go-around," she replied with a smirk. Yuna saw this, believing a past moment inspired her motivation.

"She's probably doing this since we revived Kazuki," she whispered to the mouse. "His magical lineage was distilled. Not that I should worry."

("What's a magical lineage?") quipped Pikachu. Unfortunately, the language barrier made Yuna not understand the Pokémon. Meanwhile...

"_Your_ dignity?" copied Weiss, a finger near Kuriko's face. "I'll be surprised if I learn you didn't sleep with any other men!" A deep breath told Ash to end it all.

"I am probably gonna regret this but..." he sighed as he pulled both women apart again. "Perhaps all three of us can be in the same bed so that I hear no more arguing." The grit on his face told even Ruby that he didn't want to go through with the concept. The idea, however, did stop the bickering between the blond and the white-haired.

"Perhaps we'll see who Ash sides with. I can't wait to see your face when he and I cuddle in nothing more than our undergarments."

"You are _so_ on!" Even though the matter found a resolve, Ruby understood Ash's anguish. Still, he opened the portal back to an academy. Once through, the Savers, the inhabitants and the teammates including Zoey emerged. The men had matching uniform t-shirts with blue dress pants, though their colors differed: Ash had a black shirt with yellow cuffs, Gray had all white, Chad had lavender with lilac cuffs, Kazuki had white with blue cuffs, and Ichigo and Renji had matching black with white cuffs. The girls had schoolgirl uniforms with skirts but with key differs in color as well: Ruby had a black top and skirt with a red front; Weiss had sky blue top and skirt with a white front; Erza had a silver top, blue skirt and a gold front; Yuna had a lavender top and skirt with a white front and Zoey sported a maroon top and skirt with a white front. She also had the least about arguing.

"I may be a girl but I'm not one for skirts," she complained. Chad rested a palm on her head.

"It's only temporary," he summed up. Kuriko wore a lilac business suit with skirt, black stockings and high-heels. All faced a skyscraper.

"Everyone, my dorm," she informed. "Sure, it's a lot bigger than what Kazuki and Yuna live under but that's what happens when you're part of a wealthy family." she led the gang to the lobby, greeted by about 40 young maids.

"Welcome back, Miss Kazetsubaki," they greeted in unison with bows. Kuriko stood between the Savers and the maids.

"These members will need the deluxe. Make sure they're fed and garnered with the beds provided. Also, prepare a King-Size for three of us."

"Yes, ma'am!" Before tagging along with the rest, Yuna tapped Ash's back, getting his attention.

"I know it's last minute but..." she stuttered. "Can Kazuki and I watch over your Pikachu tonight?" Kazuki came up with a reason that might suit Ash.

"We want to repay you for saving me and Yuna when the demons attacked and she sprained her ankle," he remembered. Ash didn't see any harm in allowing the two to keep his friend company.

"I see nothing wrong," he agreed. "You think you can behave for them?" Pikachu squeaked in obedience. The rest of the day, the Savers got fed as Gray and Ichigo plotted strategies on how to approach the hideout. Baths and massages relaxed tensions around and within the group, a last preparation for their fight aiding them. Night fell. The Savers had individual beds to sleep in, the girls on one side with the boys on the other. However, none included Ash, Weiss or Kuriko. In a luxury suite, the three slept snug with each other with Ash's head tipping toward Kuriko. It also didn't help that the clothes were scattered, including undergarments near the foot of the bed. It may be the last night the Savers have together with Beryl waiting to make an appearance.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	9. Manhattan Up, Rescue Savers

_Chapter 9: Manhattan Up, Rescue Savers_

* * *

On the rooftop of a skyscraper, Kuwabara and a raven-haired young man waited for Ash and the Savers to return. The raven-haired teen wore all green except for the black loafers. The Savers no longer had to worry about Beryl's forces invading their lands. They defeated or slain Neflite on the railroad to Fiore, home to Gray and Erza; Jadeite in Beacon; school for Ruby and Weiss; Malachite in the Soul Society, land of the Soul Reapers; and Zoisite at a Pokémon Contest, one Zoey participated in and Ash watched. Before too long, a flash of light erupted. Coming from the Aoi Academy, the Savers and the supporting party arrived in their normal attire. Ash, Pikachu, Gray, Ruby, Chad, Erza, Weiss, Ichigo, Renji, Zoey and Kuriko emerged. The impatient two seemed thankful to the return of the team. "I wondered what was taking so long," the raven-haired sighed.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Yusuke," Ash apologized. "We just needed some time to replenish ourselves." Kuriko and Weiss glared with evil eyes, both desiring Ash for themselves. Gray came forward, an update needed.

"Anyway, what's the latest?" he asked. "Did you find out where Beryl's hiding?"

"Nope," Kuwabara replied. "We've combed the city and about every nook and cranny. This queen really wants to stay hidden." Even Yusuke couldn't argue Beryl's secrecy.

"We haven't checked Madison Square Garden, Shea Stadium or Ground Zero when you guys came back," he described. This left some of the newcomers a little puzzled.

"Ground... Zero?" wondered Erza.

"It's where the World Trade Center towers used to stand," Ichigo clarified. "Back a few years ago, commercial planes were hijacked. Their alleged targets were here in New York City and Washington, DC: The World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and The White House. The hijackers got three of the spots but one airliner crashed in the outskirts of northeast Pennsylvania, thanks to those who stood up to what the hijackers wanted. Still, hundreds of lives: men, women, children..." A lot of people sacrificed... Those now learning of what happened grew sick.

"All those people..." moaned Zoey. As some mourned, there was a rattle. The shaking got everyone's attention.

"What's going on?!" shrieked Weiss. "An earthquake?!"

"Impossible!" shouted Ichigo. "There's no fault around the east coast!" Kuriko flew up from the shaking with Pikachu on her shoulder and saw something rising from the ground. It looked to be a mountain forming from the distance.

"It could be me but I think Beryl's done playing hide-and-seek," she reported. To make it more unbelievable, the mountain, which turned out as a castle, began to fly as unearthed skeletons fell. Pikachu grew horrified with the falling remains.

("It can't be...") it squeaked.

"Those that died on 9/11," Kuriko guessed, disgusted with the sight before returning back to the roof. At least the shaking stopped. "That's where we need to go! Queen Beryl made her move!" No one needed to debate the idea.

"We'll take care of this, you two," Ruby told Yusuke and Kuwabara. "This has been our fight so far."

"Hey, don't disappoint us," Kuwabara allowed. "It'll be embarrassing if the Spirit Detectives bail you out." On that exchange, the Savers hit the stairs and elevator to reach the streets. As soon the team met back up, they realized they had a long way to go.

"As soon as we make it to the castle, we'll be too exhausted to fight Beryl," Gray figured. It sounded as if they stood a tiny chance, if any. Then a car horn... or a bus horn. A red double-decked bus arrived and stopped at the skyscraper... and who might the driver be? Opening the door found Becky Farrah in the driver seat.

"Next stop: flying castle vie Ground Zero!" she teased. Ash gawked at who came to pick them up.

"Becky?" he named. "I thought you three were heading back to Chicago!"

"Yeah, tell that to Rally! She thought you might need a lift! Hop on!" The invite and the castle risen from beneath the earth, the Savers boarded the bus where they met Rally and May. Becky got the bus rolling toward the castle as people emerged from hiding to see the castle towering the other structures. The boys sat on the roof seats while the women stayed inside. They soon saw the castle floating above the streets.

"Looks like we need to fly if we can get to the front doors," Gray assumed. Not to Ichigo.

"Not really," he shook off. "Renji can get us up there." Renji balked at his name being called.

"Wait..." he gawked. "You don't mean my Bankai form?"

"It can reach the door where we can climb and enter the castle." Ash and Gray wondered what Ichigo mentioned to Renji as the bus slowed down. Destination reached, the girls sans Becky reached the roof seats.

"If you insist." Everyone backed away as Renji focused, energy emitting from his body. He lifted Zabimaru upward. "Ban-Kai!" A burst of light flickered and blinded everyone. When the light dimmed, Renji's sword had a drastic change. "Hihiō Zabimaru!" Renji's sword now resembled a skeletal snake with six glowing yellow eyes and a red mane around the head. With one swing, Renji flung the skeletal snake which stretched to reach and bite hard at the platform in front of the door.

"That's impressive," Zoey awed. Ash jumped on Hihiō Zabimaru and raced up with May behind him. Once they arrived, Ash tried to open the door. Try as hard as he might, the door wasn't giving an inch.

"It's locked!" he grunted.

"I got the key," she allowed herself. "You might want to step back!" Complying, Ash retreated to the other side of the platform.

"_Help me!"_ the voice called out. Ash hadn't heard the voice since he, Ruby, Gray and Chad returned to New York after the attack in East Rutherford.

'Don't worry,' he minded. 'We're coming!' May finished after placing an explosive on the door. She retreated and soon the explosive detonated, removing the doors from the hinges. Chad helped Renji in holding Hihiō Zabimaru down as the rest of the team ascended up the snake. The final push to liberate Queen Beryl from New York began. Once Rally reached the platform, Renji tugged on the snake and both he and Chad propelled themselves onto said platform. Renji, Rally, Zoey and May stayed outside.

"Leave Door Security to us!" urged Rally. "You guys have a long climb!" Chad bobbed and all hit the stairs. The long climb began. They found the first room within two minutes of climbing the staircase. A horde of demons lied in wait. They blocked access to the next staircase. Erza chose to step up.

"A horde of minions?" she studied. "Piece of cake. Requip!" A flash of light imbued Erza before coming out wearing... a whole hunk of silver. She wore a metal headband with wings, a wing-shaped brassier, gauntlets that extended to her shoulders, a long metal skirt and steel boots. She had two broad swords in hand. "I think Heaven's Wheel will punish these." Without thought, Chad stepped up, his arms geared for battle.

"Just thought you would like support," he offered. Erza smiled to the idea.

"A sword could use a shield." Erza swung her sword which blasted through a line of demons that blocked the path. "Get going! We'll deal with these fools!" Ash bobbed a nod in trust.

"Okay!" he accepted before the rest reached the staircase and climbed. Chad and Erza stormed in the fray, armed for each minion. The shrinking gang made their way to the next hall. There, giant horned frog creatures greeted the visitors with their croaking. This time, Ichigo and Ruby stood to face them.

"I've always wanted to dissect a demon frog," snickered Ichigo.

"You'll have plenty of fun," Ruby muttered. "Ash, get to Beryl! We've got these things!" Another nod from Ash and with only Pikachu, Kuriko, Weiss and Gray, the group charged upward on the next flight of stairs. Yet another hall held the next floor. A flash of fire forced the group to take a step back. What stepped out were creatures glowing red like fire seeped out.

"Welcome to the Floor from Hell!" one of the fiery creatures gloated.

"It's a little warm for us," Gray denied. "At least I brought some ice." Snow powder fluttered from his hands.

"Ash, Kuriko, get going," Weiss allowed. "And Ash..." The call had Ash spin to her. "Don't die before our first date." Ash blushed at the offer of going out with the white-haired.

"She can't accept losing, can she?" scoffed Kuriko before she and Ash headed up the steps. Those two and Pikachu dodged a fiery wall, encasing Gray and Weiss to deal with the burning demons. Now the last three ascended the staircase.

"_Help me!"_ the voice kept calling, her cry getting louder.

"We're almost there!" he believed.

"You sure?" asked Kuriko.

"That voice I told you about! It's getting louder!" Beryl heard Ash's voice from beyond her chamber door.

"He's finally here," she gleamed. The hooded one stood to watch as the doors were pushed open. Now Ash and Beryl met in person. "I was wondering when you'd arrive in my chamber!"

"Is that so? _I_ was wondering when I could enter your castle to begin with." Beryl stood up and stepped away from her throne as Ash and Kuriko made their way to the middle.

"Soon, with your powers, I will have another chance to claim Crystal Tokyo, including the Imperial Silver Crystal held by that bratty princess. Though now that I see who you are, you remind me of a young Darrien... rather Tuxedo Mask, the beau to Sailor Moon. In a sense, I'd rather have you as a son of mine instead of our... current status as enemies." The compliment didn't alter Ash but it did make Kuriko scoff.

"I may not know who this Darrien or Tuxedo Mask is," she giggled. "But this young stud is quite the dashing type." Ash glanced up and saw four large icicle-like stalagmites hanging on the ceiling. He believed the last one was reserved for him.

"Did you have that one icicle for me?" he asked.

"Not necessarily," Beryl denied. "I could easily encase you in one to draw your energy. After all, I have expelled the energies of Edward Elric, Rin Kamishiro, Sakura Haruno and Kari Kamiya." The last name irked Ash. He and Kuriko glanced at each other in confusion.

"I doubt you've heard of a Kari, right?" wondered Kuriko. A shake from Ash confirmed the curiosity.

"Could that have been who was calling me?" he pondered. He then refocused his attention to Beryl. "Anyway, if you think I'll donate my aura to your cause..." He unhooked his blades and armed himself. "I might offer you a few cuts." Beryl scoffed, bemused at Ash's feeble resistance.

"You wound me," she laughed. "Now let me wound you." She fired black lightning streams where Ash and Kuriko took evasive action. Recovering, Kuriko fired slips of paper at Beryl but another stream snuffed the slips. Ash didn't waste a second as he swung Sonic Booms but those also didn't reach. Beryl followed up with more streams. Kuriko flew up to avoid contact. Ash couldn't move fast enough, forced to take a blast in folded arms, blades out.

"Ash!" shouted the blond. Knocked back, Ash rolled and regained his footing, shaking off the shot. Beryl took a step forward. Ash clapped his sticks and a flint sparked up.

"It's better to cooperate than resist. You can still live while world domination and access to Crystal Tokyo bears fruit." That's when a faint glow embedded Ash.

"I'm crystal clear, now," he smiled. "But I work better in a fog." He soon cocooned himself in Water Jet but instead of taking off after Beryl, he smashed his blades which kicked up a fire. The burst of flames formed a plume of steam and coated the room. Beryl braced herself, the heat from the steam cloud stinging her. With a wave of her arm, the cloud dispersed. A blaze of fire zoomed at her from the side but she quickly picked it up. A force stopped the blaze but not Ash. He retreated but not before shooting a green ball of energy. That ball missed Beryl by a foot... if only Pikachu wasn't accounted for. "Iron Tail!" Pikachu leaped up with a glowing tail before smashing it at the ball. Now the deflected orb had speed on the return trip. Beryl caught it effortlessly, astounding and spooking the mouse. The queen studied the orb in her hand.

"Impressive. Establishing many keen abilities in hopes to find a weakness." She turned to Ash with the orb changing color from green to black. Kuriko realized her intention. "If you wish not to be part of the new era, what choice do I have? The energy within you is not worth my time." The blond flew fast to save Ash. "The Battling Time Savers were a joke. This is my final punchline!" She shot the newly-colored orb at Ash. Kuriko and the orb met at about the same time and the concussive blast ruptured through the castle all the way to the front door.

"What the hell was that?!" snapped Renji. Back in the throne room, Ash was only a few feet away from the blast zone. Kuriko was face-down, a puddle of blood forming from her midsection.

"Kuriko!" cried Ash. After huddling to the blond, he turned her over, the gut turned inside-out and her blood pooling out. "Kuriko!" Eyes opened, Kuriko breath was so shallow, it was almost like she couldn't breathe.

"I'm... sorry," she weakly moaned. "My family... they frowned when I... I couldn't get K-Kazuki's... genes." She faded in and out of consciousness, skin paling from the loss of blood. "But I feel okay..."

"You're not okay! You need medical attention!" Whatever strength wasn't blown out, Kuriko put her fingers on Ash's face.

"Ash, because of you... I have... no regrets. I had... my chance with... someone I love, even... if Weiss joined us." Her eyes fluttered to stay awake. "Ash... Take my magic. Learn... to fly... and save everyone." A pink glow flowed through Kuriko's arm to Ash's face, as if an awkward way to feed information to someone else. "Be in... my heart..." She closed her eyes before her body faded away, disappearing altogether. Ash knelt in disbelief.

"Kuriko... I'm sorry." A tear shed from his closed eye. Grieving cringed his face. Kuriko was no more.

"How sad," Beryl mocked. "The love of your life sacrificing herself in vain." Ash stood back up and shot a glare that frightened Pikachu. An explosion of energy, swirling glows of blue and pink imbuing Ash. Beryl smiled at what Ash summoned. "I guess I was wrong about your power. Too bad it won't save you." Ash whipped his arm, six slips appearing in his hand. He flung the slips which then morphed to a powerful hose of water, a fireball, an electric beam, a flurry of leaves, a gust of wind and a kick of sand. Beryl flashed a barrier which blocked all the attacks. Ash's eyes, tears trickling from Kuriko's death, read rage. That's when the voice came back.

"_Help me!" _the voice called. It snapped Ash from his anger, looking up at one icicle. To him, that icicle held the voice, held Kari. Refocused, he took a few deep breaths. Beryl fired another black beam but Ash knew what to do. He performed a jumping uppercut with a glowing blue arm, redirecting the shot at the icicle and destroying it. From the ice fell something. Flying up, Ash caught it before jumping off another icicle and distant him away from Beryl. Finally, Ash observed the something... or someone. It was a brunette girl wearing pink fingerless gloves that reached her shoulders, a pink and white sleeveless shirt and yellow shorts. She was breathing. "Help me..." This was the voice who was calling for help... and Ash freed her.

"I'm here to help you," he finally replied. Responding, the brunette opened brown eyes and looked up to the boy who came to help her out. A soft nod from Ash told her who it is. He stood up, the girl in his arms. "You killed Kuriko Kazetsubaki. I won't let you hurt anyone else." All Beryl did was scoff.

"And you think this little girl will grant you victory?" she sneered, the hooded one coming to her side. "If Sailor Moon was by your side, you'd have a fighting chance. But her?" She started powering up another shot. Ash knew he could dodge it. He didn't need to. A jab stopped the charge and broke it. That was from the hooded one who stabbed Beryl in the gut. Shocked, Beryl saw the stab and where it came from as blood drained from the wound. Ash and the brunette turned away from the attack, hiding eyes.

"Now you're the one who failed," the hooded one argued as he removed his hand from Beryl's gut. He removed his hood to reveal a golden-blond man with white eyes and distorted grit. "Your time ran out when you helped free the light. However, I will use your darkness and the Savers' powers to reset the world." He knocked Beryl at the two as Pikachu regrouped with Ash. The man walked off toward the back. Ash let the girl down, although she was a little unsteady being back on her feet.

"Was that... the reason... I... had new life?" The three knelt to Beryl, weakening from the major wound and blood loss. "To capture the... Savers for... his benefit?" That's what it sounded like.

"I doubt I can forgive you for what you did to Kuriko," Ash warned. "But still, I wouldn't have resorted to this." Beryl turned to Ash, a faint smile in understanding her fate.

"I suppose not. I should have known that reviving someone is... sacrilegious. Why did... he bring... me back from... the dead?" Neither one could answer her dying query.

"Beryl, if it means anything, I will stop him from doing his work." Beryl nodded to Ash's will.

"I feel... that you've been... someone who... will fight for... what you believe..." She drew one more breath. Her hand fell limp to the floor. Her body laid still. Queen Beryl died. Her eyes were open but no life appeared. The brunette clutched Pikachu, grieving the loss of the enemy. Ash reached over her face, closing her eyes since she could no longer use them. The trainer teared up again from the queen's death, wishing there was a better way to resolve the fight she started. Now there existed the desire of one man. If anything, Ash would need to put aside the heartache to save everyone.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	10. Angelic Evil

_Chapter 10: Angelic Evil_

* * *

It's one thing to see someone die. In a span of a few minutes, Ash and Pikachu saw two: Kuriko being killed by Beryl, then Beryl herself killed by the hooded man. The two with the brunette girl Ash rescued mourned Beryl's sudden second death. Unbeknown to the three, the other icicles started cracking all around. They soon lost hold on the ceiling and crashed on the floor in front of the group alive. Out of the icicles were Ash's old teammates strewn on the floor and they weren't in the best moods. "Dammit!" shouted Edward as he got to his knees. He and Sakura, sitting up, clasped heads in pain. "No one deserves to fall like that!" Rin glanced to see Ash draping his vest over the dead queen.

"Ketchum made it," she pointed out. "But what is he doing?" All they could see were Beryl's legs. Edward, Rin and Sakura risen to their feet to meet the teammate that bailed them out. Ash stood up, his eyes closed. A silent prayer.

"Ash?" wondered Sakura. Ash didn't move his head to see the team. Maybe he didn't hear her. "Ash!" To the trainer, now wasn't a good time to be happy since he lost the girl who loved him and couldn't exact his revenge when the hooded man gutted her. The moment Edward and Sakura saw the jacket over the fallen queen, they quickly assumed the nightmare ended.

"You killed the queen?" chuckled Edward. "I didn't think you had it in you." He didn't and he'd clarify quickly.

"That hooded man is the one running this show," Ash corrected. "He killed Beryl." Learning this news, they turned to the brunette who confirmed Ash's report with a nod.

"I see," Rin accepted, recalling the queen's side man. "He played her for the fool she was." Ash then partially turned to Rin, thinking about Kuriko.

"Rin... I'm sorry. I couldn't protect Kuriko. She's dead." Rin looked at Ash, astonished about the news. "She got killed protecting me. If you want to hate me for her death, I won't hold it against you." The purple-haired swordswoman stood rather shocked at this news. She knew Kuriko as one of Kazuki's girls who wanted his genes. He then glanced at where the hooded figure walked off. He then remembered the Pokémon and released them. "Pikachu, Chimchar, Buizel, Staravia, Gligar, Turtwig... keep these guys company until help arrives and join them. I have someone I need to discuss matters with." That hooded figure was the main antagonist.

"You're not serious about this, are you?" questioned Sakura.

"I know what I need to do. Just wait here for help. A bus is waiting downstairs." The brunette wasn't willing to watch Ash walk off after just meeting him after calling for help all this time.

"Wait!" she yelled as she chased him. "Don't tell me you want to fight him?" To Ash, he still felt fresh to fight on. He remembered what the hooded figure said about siphoning the Savers' power and the name Beryl mentioned after he and Kuriko arrived.

"You're Kari, right?"

"Yeah..."

"The hooded man said that he drained Ed, Rin and Sakura of their abilities. I can still battle and with Kuriko's magic, I can stop his plans." He resumed his walk for a few steps. "Take care of my Pokémon." He walked toward the path the hooded figure left towards. It led him outside where the hooded blond man was seen flying. Black feathered wings flapping high above the streets of New York City He glared at a clock in the far distance.

"Soon, the world will be cleansed of the fouls and reset to a form of peace without humanity," he plotted. "Perhaps the heavens will now grant me access in ridding the Earth of this pollution called man." Ash stared at the blond, feelings of fear and anger boiling through his system.

"You want to clean the world of all these people?!" he shouted. The winged blond glanced down, spotting the lone Savers missed.

"Humans have infested the world, a plague that has and will consume the Earth before they destroy it. Humans have harmed, even killed to chase their desires. Only I can siphon this... disease called humanity." He's willing to kill every person on the planet to satisfy peace. Kari found Ash with his Pikachu on her shoulder, noting the demeanor.

"Looks like I gotta teach him a few lessons." When Kari saw the blond, her eyes fixated to the wings.

"That's a fallen angel," she realized. Hearing the girl, Ash turned to wonder why she came to his side.

"Didn't I tell you and Pikachu to wait for help to take you down?"

("No way will I leave your side!") Pikachu protested. Being longtime partners, it's no real secret why.

"I don't understand!" wondered Kari. "Why is a fallen angel doing all of this?!" Ash heard the fallen angel, though not sure how to explain it all.

"He said something about purifying the world of humans," he replayed. "I don't think he's joking about it." He took another step before Kari snagged his shoulder.

"You can't win! He can't die! An angel, even a fallen one, is immortal!" So Ash had no chance against the man who summoned and killed Beryl? To Ash, he had one objective.

"I'm not here to win... just stop his chaos before all is lost." Kari's hand slipped off Ash's shoulder and he stepped to the edge. He remembered that Kuriko could fly when she lived. "Let's go." He stepped off and Kari and Pikachu believed he jumped to his death. Soon, he stretched his arms out, glitter showering from his body. His fall soon became a glide as he now began to fly, almost as if Kuriko's ghost pulled him up to face the fallen angel. Now, and in midair, Ash and the fallen angel faced off.

"So you dare challenge Heavens' messenger, Damien?" he announced himself as. This wasn't true to Kari. She sensed a lie.

"If I knew better, Damien is Satan's son," she thought. "He's no angel." Pikachu gawked in figuring the truth about Damien.

"I want to know what you mean when you said you're purifying the world," Ash questioned. This insight of desire didn't alter Damien in any form.

"Ever since the dawn of men, humans have grown at a significant pace," he started. "However, men soon learned more than knowing their existence. Over the past 3,000 years, men fought for privilege to claim land, squander for girls and even for the sheer thrill. Billions have perished, most of them for no good will of their own. Men will continue this reign of violence." To Ash, he belonged in this category. Still, he needed to defend what men could do.

"I get it. There are men who shouldn't be mentioned in history. And all of these battles and wars have been nothing more than people dying for no reason. Still, there are people who want peace, those who fight without committing violence. They can't be punished because of those who do." Damien didn't buy the peace speech.

"They will be corrupted soon enough. Nothing can change their fates."

"So you also want to erase children who don't even know about their existences?"

"The safer route, never pretty, is the only option the Heavens' gave me." Now it rang in Ash's senses about why he, Edward, Rin and Sakura were targeted from the start when Beryl came back from the grave. Damien wanted them locked up so that he could rid humanity, but was it really Heaven's decision or his?

"That's why you came after my friends. You used Queen Beryl as a front to absorb our abilities and use them to wipe out every man, woman and child! I'm not real familiar with angels but your ploy is anything but holy."

"Its the desire of the Heavens. I am merely following orders." Ash whipped out his elbow blades, ready to show Damien his wrongs.

"They better start praying once I'm done with you!" He bolted forward, a stream of electricity streaking the sky as people below gazed up at the two. Damien didn't seem bothered.

"Then taste the powers of the Black Moon." He shot black laser beams at the streaking stream but Ash circled around each shot before smashing in crossed arms. The strike blew off the cloak and showed a mildly muscled man. Damien freed one arm and wound up a hook, but Ash pushed off in time and let the arm pass. The push off let the fallen angel reset himself. The battle had begun. Back with the original Savers, Ash's Pokémon grew worried about their master. Edward wondered how Ash actually kept himself from capture, his Chimchar glancing toward where he and Kari raced off.

"I hate to say it but I believe Ash is more ninja than Naruto," Sakura compared. Rin disagreed with a doubtful grunt.

"No, Illpalazzo is responsible for summoning Ketchum before Beryl's general claimed him," she guessed. "We have his blessing. He's the only one who can save the world, now. My magic is at a minimum."

"Same with my chakra..." Just then, more people coming up the stairs. Arriving were Beacon's students, Ruby and Weiss. Buizel and Turtwig first noticed the two and raced to their side.

"Are you the previous Savers?" asked Ruby. The pink-haired girl turned to the students, bewildered about the two.

"And you are?"

"Ruby Rose, Time Saver and huntress-in-training. We came to pick you up." Rescue had arrived. That's when Weiss couldn't find her wanted beau.

"Where's Ash?" she asked. Chimchar pointed to the hall he chased Damien.

"Ketchum apologized to me about Kuriko's death..." explained Rin. "Not that I should concern myself over it." Weiss could be overjoyed but the thought that her romantic adversary was killed didn't sit well for her. The Pokémon gasped at the word, horrified that it could have easily been Ash. Ruby made a choice.

"Weiss, get them to the bus," she ordered. "I'll bring Ash back." Weiss world prefer to go after him, herself.

"Why should I let you have-" she tried to argue but Ruby nodded to say that she respected her wishes.

"Don't worry. I'll bring him back safely." Weiss surrendered and nodded.

"Okay." Before leaving for the hall, Rin tossed a sword to Ruby.

"Ketchum may need this," she preferred. Ruby took the sword, acknowledging the idea from one of the originals, and dashed down the hall.

"Why did you give him-" Edward began his question.

"Our powers have been drained. His weapon will fail." Weiss led the group away and Ruby found the balcony where Kari and Pikachu watched the struggle.

"Are you a Saver, too?" she asked. Kari jumped from Ruby's sudden appearance.

"Not me!" she shrieked. Without warning, a black fireball whizzed by, nearly blowing the girls and Ash's favorite Pokémon from the balcony. All three looked up, Damien barely phased while bruises mounted on Ash. Ruby gawked to Ash flying.

"When did he grow wings? That would've been helpful near Fiore!" Damien clapped his hands, shadows of waves striking Ash in fetal position. Damien followed it up with a myriad of flames but Ash straightened himself out before going in, swooping around the flames and winding a strike. However, the impact broke the sticks in splinters. Damien's chest remained untouched. He returned the favor by grabbing his neck, cutting his air supply. Quickly, Ash snagged his wrists, hands glowing blue. He pulled the arms apart, allowing himself to breathe. Damien kicked away with both feet, propelling him back to the girls and Pikachu. He didn't crash to or through the castle walls, just stopped two feet away. He noticed Ruby, believing she came to guide the first team to safety.

"You cleared the way for the rest?" he guessed.

"Yeah, Weiss is getting everyone on the bus," Ruby noted. Ash appreciated the effort.

"Awesome! Kari, Pikachu, go with Ruby back down!" Pikachu replied in fear, not willing to split with Ash so suddenly.

"I agree," Kari trusted. "You can't beat him! It's impossible!" Ash looked back, curious to what Damien glared to.

"No need to worry. I want to make sure you're out of harm's way. My other friends should protect you." Ruby nodded before remembering Rin's sword.

"By the way, samurai girl wanted me to give you this," she brought up as she flicked the blade to him.

"Good timing. Now, you get going. I'll be fine." Sword in hand, Ash flew back to meet Damien. Ruby patted Kari on the shoulder, telling her that it's time.

"Let's go!" Giving in, Kari nodded and left.

("Don't die on us, Ash!") wished Pikachu. Both sides prepared to battle more.

"So now you come with another weapon?" scoffed Damien. "Less, it be the katana of Rin Kamishiro. I have the powers of your friends: alchemy, chakra and magic. All you possess is the magic of the girl Beryl destroyed and this inner strength you've held to." To Ash, he had their abilities but chanced that he couldn't use it.

"So you have my team's abilities," he called his bluff. "But can you use it?" Damien performed hand gestures while keeping his fingers close. Once done, he became many forms surrounding Ash. Remembering an earlier fight, he recognized what Damien performed. "Okay... Shadow Clone Jutsu. Good start." The angels raced in to gang up but Ash unsheathed Rin's sword and used it and the sheath to snuff each attacker. One more was the target but when Ash struck, a dark, transparent bubble formed and deflected the blow, protecting Damien. Ash now had more to work with, and against. Ruby, Kari and Pikachu found a slide made of ice which was connected to the bus. Kari reached the edge and stopped before Ruby assured her about the team. Sliding down, Chad and Weiss caught at the bottom with Renji waiting.

"Is that everyone?" he asked. Ruby nodded, allowing Chad to step up. With one mighty swing, he punched the slide which shattered in a million pieces. Ruby and Weiss hustled Kari below deck, meeting with other girls including Rally and Zoey.

"Chad broke the ice," Weiss reported. Hearing the update, Becky hit the acceleration and cleared the bus from the castle. The boys watched the fight on the upper deck, concern growing for their friend.

"Since when do angels actually care about what happens down here?!" gulped Ichigo.

"Screw that, I thought angels' wings were white!" reminded Edward. Even though they couldn't see the fight above, Rally had different worries.

"Park nearby," she ordered. "If what Ruby said is happening, I can intercept the fight with the Mustang." Becky had doubts about the idea but with the situation above, she had little to counter.

"If you say so," she surrendered before stopping on the street. Rally's vehicle remained untouched. Becky opened the door and let Rally out. However, Rally wasn't the only one getting off. Kari and Pikachu hopped out and joined Rally after she rounded the front of the car. She spotted the pair, shocked without Pikachu applying any electricity.

"The hell! Get back on the bus!"

"He helped me get out!" she snapped, Pikachu squeaking in support. "I want to help him!" Suddenly, Rally remembered after they bailed Ash from Jadeite's onslaught that he heard voices, now knowing that Kari was the one calling for him. Rally gave up and unlocked the passenger side.

"Get in!" Kari obeyed and both jumped in the Mustang. Rally started the engine and raced away. Meanwhile, Ash reset himself as Damien darted his eyes away a couple of times.

"Hey, I'm the one who's stopping this!" he roared as he zoomed at the angel. He enveloped himself in Buizel's Aqua Jet. Damien looked back, viewing the aquatic cocoon.

"Wait..." he balked before Ash stopped suddenly, the water dousing the fallen one. Ash pulled the handle of his former weapon from his jeans pocket, and gave it a good shake before shooting lightning, shocking the winged man. People on the sidewalks below started pulling out cellphones, camcorders, cameras, documenting the event.

"You don't see this every night!" one citizen cheered. The bus zipped pass the onlookers, Gray noting the odd behavior from Damien.

"What do you think Black Wings is looking towards?!" he questioned.

"It's my first time in New York so I can't say!" replied Renji. Edward had a guess to Gray's question.

"A clock, perhaps?!" he guessed. May overheard the boys talking, checking her watch.

"It's 11:57," she read. That gave enough of a hint for Erza, back in her regular armor, to tell him what's going on while Ash and Damien continued their battle.

"So that's Damien's plan," she suspected. "He's biding his time for midnight. What for, we can only speculate." Everyone grew a little fearful to what Damien's midnight matinee would include. Ash and Damien continued their fight, descending to the streets at high speed while avoiding the road. Damien swipe at Ash with his fingernails, only getting his t-shirt. Seeing his top ripped, Ash tossed his top away. That's when Damien fingered a circle in the air as he held part of Ash's shirt. Two triangles overlapping and mirroring each other in the circle and last was the cloth. To Ash, this was another member's ability.

"Transmutation," he figured. Damien pressed on the floating circle and the remains of Ash's shirt became a whip. With one swing at Ash who was ready to do anything to stop the fallen angel's mission, Damien wrapped Ash's arms.

"Now there's no escape from death," he gloated. Ash smiled to the threat.

"Look who's talking." He palmed the whip with an electric hand. The electricity flowed through the whip and tagged Damien, shocking him. As he tried to fight the shock, Ash hopped off his foot, rolled and encased himself on fire. Using the same whip as a guide, he rolled before launching a dropkick, sending Damien back up to the sky. Ash sprang up to follow his opponent. As he readied another attack, bells from churches around rang. Everyone stopped and wondered about the bells ringing at this time of night. To Damien, the time had arrived.

"The moment Queen Beryl came back to life, Earth's time grew short. Now, I can unleash the apocalypse on the humans and reset the world to restore the balance caused by the humans who've tarnished the land." Clouds formed above New York, an overcast hiding the moon and stars. Ash watched in midair as did those on the ground. That's when they came. Hundreds of cloaks showered New York, all armed with scythes.

"Soul Reapers meet Grimm Reapers!" joked Renji. "I'll admit, this is original!" Now the task to save everyone had its difficulty skyrocket. People scattered at the sights of these creatures.

"Your efforts were in futile the moment you returned to this world. You cannot save everyone... or rather, no one can be saved by any means. Welcome to the last moments alive." The situation never looked so grim but Ash would never surrender so soon or easily. He had a plan.

"Beryl, it's time to go home," he whispered under his own breath. He found one Grimm Reaper and swooped in as others found potential targets. The reaper tried to circle around Ash but he wasn't giving it room. Irritated, it swung the scythe. Beryl's hand popped out of Ash's chest and caught the blade's tip. A loud chime echoed over the city and forced the other reapers to stop before any of them could try and rip a human. Damien could only wonder why the reapers didn't carry out any deaths.

"What's going on?!" he pondered as he flew to the reaper attacking Ash. Other reapers started ascending to see the stall. That's when the soul of Queen Beryl phased through Ash, her hand somehow holding the scythe. Damien lost his low leveled demeanor. "This... cannot be!" Beryl scoffed beyond her borrowed shell.

"_**Damien..." **_she called. **_"You must know that a resurrection is sacrilegious to those that govern our lives. If the reason you brought me from Hell was to eradicate the humans from living, you've created a sin that your father, Satan, would frown upon." _**The fallen angel was at a lost for words. Even more, Kuriko's soul emerged to confront Damien as well.

"_**Let's face it, Damien," **_she sneered. **_"_You're _the reason I'm dead. All of your hard work and yet you only claimed us and Beryl's generals."_**

"But how?!" gulped Damien.

"_**I've read the legend about the resurrection, as well the consequences of such," **_Beryl brought up. **_"A soul of the damned cannot be removed, lest the messengers of death will reek havoc until the soul is recovered. Words your father wrote since the dawn of time."_**

"_**Of course, Satan never expected a disobedient son,"**_ Kuriko smiled. **_"But when he gets word of what his son did, he won't be a happy camper. But in the meantime, she'll be going back to her hotspot while I head to the pearly gates. Unfortunately, they also want to abscond the magic I lend Ash." _**The blond's soul now spun to her young love, unable to love anymore. _**"Ash, thank you for all you've done since Kazuki's lineage distilled. I can at least live in heaven and in peace."**_ Beryl also had some parting words for the one who freed her.

"_**Ash, since I was killed by him and shared your vessel, I knew you could stop the genocide before it was carried out. Only you could do the impossible task of saving the population. I can tell that not one soul was taken when the hordes of death committed their rain." **_Talk about impressive... **_"Grimm Reapers, we are ready." _**On that order, the Reapers guided Beryl beneath the streets and Kuriko to the sky which broke the clouds apart, the moon and stars visible once again. Without Kuriko's magic, Ash started to fall as Damien gritted how his plan fell apart.

"I had a mission," he coughed. "Now it won't be fulfilled-" He felt a yank and saw Ash grabbing his foot. He couldn't fly so he dropped Rin's sword and latched on for dear life. "Let go!" Ash's grip remained strong.

"If I go down..." he shouted. "You are coming with me!" In a desperate situation, Damien dive-bombed with Ash holding tight. Being the head's-up trainer, Ash figured Damien's ploy.

"You shall die!" Damien started to roll, an attempt to fling Ash off. As he began the catapult straight down, Ash let go with his body sparking back up. Damien's flinging flip had so much velocity, he fully rotated and left Ash above him. Opening screamed to Ash as he became cocooned in a veil of blue light. He slammed at Damien's back and pulled his wings. Now the fallen angel had no control.

"This is for endangering everyone!" The blue man-made comet crashed on the street and the Mustang wasn't far off. It stopped at the crevice left by the fallen blue streak. Rally, Kari and Pikachu exited the vehicle where Kari saw the fight from Rally's Mustang. When the smoke cleared, Damien was laid out, face first on the pavement. Ash was on his knees and on Damien's back. Rally believed Ash won against someone or something supposedly immortal. Neither one moved. Ash's eyes were all white.

"Did he?" suspected Rally. Another minute passed when Damien began to move his arms. He shifted his body enough to shake Ash from his back as he fell like a rag-doll to the rocks. Rally removed her handgun from her holster and aimed it at the fallen one. "Don't move!" Damien got to his feet as Kari and Pikachu hid behind Rally. He eyed the downed Ash, ignoring Rally's command. "I said don't move!" Still not listening, Damien latched his head, lifting his lifeless body from the ground.

"Even if you defied the Heavens, I will carry out the order," he promised as he squeezed Ash's head. No reaction. Rally shot her gun but the bullets bounced off Damien's body while his hand applied more pressure, crushing Ash's skull.

"Nuts!" Suddenly, a pillar of light struck the sight, blinding Pikachu and the girls for a minute. The light shone so brightly for a minute before dimming and all turning to a grown blond woman in a white gown below a golden brassier and wings similar to Damien's, except white.

"Gabriel?" the fallen angel identified.

"Damien, what is the meaning of this?" she questioned. "Sending the apocalypse on the humans?" Damien released Ash where Kari and Pikachu tended to his aid.

"I came to reset Earth from the violence that plagues these humans!" Gabriel rose an eyebrow.

"Who sent you? Before you answer, I did question every messenger and angel about your behavior." To Gabriel, Damien performed this act on humanity on his own merit. "There are reasons you were deemed a fallen angel, but apparently, you never learned your lesson!" Two beams from the sky shot down and severed Damien's wings. "And I spoke with your father. You will never be granted wings again." One more beam struck Damien. As he began rising to the sky, he screamed in protest. Once disappeared, Gabriel turned her attention to Ash and knelt. Kari stood back as Gabriel palmed Ash's chest, a glow forming his body. "Relax, child." The glowing lasted a full two minutes. When the glowing stopped, Gabriel stood back up. Kari and Pikachu thought Gabriel couldn't revive Ash.

"Is it..." a teary-eyed Kari struggled to speak.

"All he needs is rest. I've restarted his heart and healed his injuries, but not his fatigue." The girls witnessed Ash's chest slowly rising and falling. He's alive, much to the relief of the girl and his mouse. "To think that man would become extinct by a fallen angel is stopped by a mere boy willing to sacrifice himself. When his time does come, I'll have a special place in heaven dedicated for this agent of holiness." Gabriel began ascending back above the clouds and disappearing altogether. Rally got her cellphone out and hit the "Auto-Dial" button.

"You calling, Rally?" sounded May.

"Yeah, can you have Becky pick us up?" she requested as she found an arena with a familiar name down the street. "We're about a mile away from the Madison Square Garden's front doors."

"Gotcha! We'll be there in a few minutes." Rally hanged the phone before tending to the kids. Kari knew Ash would be okay physically. Mentally? The death of Kuriko Kazetsubaki may haunt him for sometime. The castle that Beryl stayed still floated. The crisis had ended but the personal trauma would begin.

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED...


	11. The Imperfect Grief

_Chapter 11: The Imperfect Grief_

* * *

Sunlight bled through a window. In a bed, Ash flinched his lids in reaction to the sunlight. He opened his eyes and found himself in a room. "Hey, sleepy head!" teased Ruby. Ash heard the girl, turning his head cautiously to the female partner in their fight against the Black Moon. Chimchar cheered at his master stirring awake, jumping on the bed in delight. "We got pretty worried about you. The Black Moon, the fallen angel, the floating castle... No wonder you've been out for about two days." Ash still looked out of focus, not quite realizing his surrounding. Suddenly, a tear.

"Kuriko," he muttered with a sob. The memory of Kuriko dying in his sight and hands replayed in his mind. Ruby and Chimchar saw the sadness with Ash. They believed he was hurting inside.

"Dude, I can't say sorry enough for what happened to that girl." Even Chimchar felt apologetic to Ash. Knowing Ruby's appearance, he wondered about everyone else.

"What about the others?" He believed the rest got caught up with the hoard of death.

"Waiting in the dining hall." Hearing his friends in good shape, Ash relaxed himself. He gingerly crawled out of bed and stood up, only to find himself unsteady on his feet. Thankfully, Ruby held him up. "Baby steps, Ash. One step at a time." Using Ruby as a crutch by wrapping his arm around her neck, Ash stepped out of the room as he tried to figure his location after Ruby gave him a white pinstripe shirt with "NY" overlapping each other.

"Are we in a hospital?"

"Homeless shelter in the Bronx. Reports said that unexplained creatures attacked the homeless. Not a real pretty sight. Luckily, Rally reasoned with the shelter's owner. Pretty legit woman." They reached the dining hall where the group watched the news on a television set.

"This fight in the sky featuring a boy and some winged man has gone viral throughout the world over social media sites like Myspace and AOL," a reporter said. "The fight, which had taken place over Manhattan, has many unanswered questions, including who these two are and what significance it contains among anything from phenomena or religion. Some have speculated the winged man as the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Authorities won't offer any answers at this moment. In relation to the fight, investigators are collecting what appear to be remains of victims of either the two planes and/or the World Trade Center towers that were destroyed on 9/11 when the floating building arose from Ground Zero. The planes, American Airlines Flight 11 that struck the North tower and United Airlines Flight 175 that hit the South Tower, were flying from Boston to LA on September 11th, 2001 when radicals from Al-Qaida hijacked the commercial planes. Reports say that identifying all the remains will take to the end of next month." Ichigo hit the "MUTE" button, silencing the TV. Gray, Erza, Weiss and Zoey didn't feel comfortable hearing about what happened to New York those few years ago.

"It doesn't make sense why people would attack this country," Zoey voiced her concern with Pikachu on her lap.

"Sometimes it's because people don't like Americans," Ichigo pointed out. Weiss turned and found Ash coming in, taking him off Ruby's shoulders and in her arms in a hug. Ruby stumbled a little but managed to recover.

"Ash, you're awake!" she cheered. "I heard you were exhausted but at least you're okay!" Ash didn't react to Weiss' hug but Sakura did, pulling each away.

"No way will you take Ash away from me, Snow White!" she growled. Weiss took her insult seriously.

"Excuse me? I'd like to see you fight off Grimm without all of your ninja nonsense!"

"At least my 'ninja nonsense' can circle around your 'Grimm' several times before they blink once."

"Then why did you get caught but the Black Moon? HUH?!" The two fighting didn't help Ash a little. It hurt his ears.

"Sakura!" he shouted. "Weiss! Stop it!" The fighting ceased but everyone turned to the grieving trainer. "Just... stop the shouting..." Even the Pokémon knew Ash was in emotional pain. Rin mulled to Ash being heavily distraught. Tears trickled as his arms slumped down. Ruby helped Ash sit down near Zoey and Pikachu.

"Face it, you two," she scolded the fighting pair. "He just lost someone who cared about him. All you wanna do is take advantage of his anguish." Pikachu patted Ash on the arm to help comfort his best friend. Ash felt out of touch with all that occurred. Edward looked at Ash before staring down, himself.

"I guess I can relate," he expressed. "When I heard about Lieutenant Hughes' murder, I got upset. I wanted to kill his murderer, that damn Homunculus, Envy." Sad nostalgia also reached Kari.

"Wizardmon..." she whimpered. "He died protecting me and Gatomon from Myotismon." The buildup of heartache mounted within each. To Ichigo, a death felt closer to home.

"You had friends who died," he iterated. "How about family?" Edward suddenly remembered someone else from Ichigo's question.

"My mother. She got sick and died. Al and I tried to revive her using forbidden transmutation but it failed." It wasn't exactly the same case as Ichigo.

"My mother as well when she was killed by that Hollow, Grand Fisher. This forced my father to raise me, Karin and Yuzu." Ruby and Kari shuttered at his and Edward's grief. "Chad still wears his grief around his neck." Chad pulled the string holding the coin to stick it out.

"Abuelo," he named. "My grandfather." A lot of sadness piled around. Zoey rubbed Ash's shoulder, concerned that he wasn't paying attention.

"They all still suffer from their losses, Ash," she summed up. "You're not alone." Ash dipped his head, still flustered with everything in the sudden moments.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I've seen Pokémon die: Celebi, Latios, Lucario... Never seen a human die, let alone someone who loved me." It was a deep heartbreak to Ash. Physically exhausted, mentally drained and emotionally destroyed; Ash wasn't sure what he wanted to do. Rin came forward and put her hand on his head.

"Stand," she ordered. Like a slave, Ash listened, obeying her order. To the trainer, Rin was angry at him for Kuriko's death. He intended to receive a slap at least. Instead, she pulled Ash's head into her shoulder in a hug. Ash looked in shock with how Rin seemed to deal with Kuriko's fall. "No one can save everyone. You're upset over one life, Ketchum. Everyone else survived. That's all that matters." It may have been one life but it still rattled him to the core.

"He's still a kid," Renji groaned. "This will affect him for sometime to come." Ash softly pushed Rin away. He needed space.

"I want to… get some fresh air," he stuttered. "And… maybe something to eat. Pikachu, everyone… behave, okay?" Despite the Pokémon pleading to stay, Ash exited the shelter.

"Even the bravest can't fight sadness," Erza downplayed. No one could dispute her fact. Ash wandered around the Big Apple aimlessly and facing down from the crowd. He even passed a newsstand with papers from The New York Times and USA Today. The front cover of about every newspaper had Ash and Damien fighting above the city. A chain-link fence surrounded Beryl's castle, also known as Ground Zero which the World Trade Center towers stood before. On the fence hung a column which had carvings of numerous names with a title on top.

WE REMEMBER THESE PEOPLE LOST ON THE TRAGIC DAY OF SEPTEMBER 11th, 2001, A DAY THAT WILL LIVE IN INFAMY.

He touched the memorial rock, feeling that at least one more could be added to this list. To the side were four pieces of wood. Instead of asking, Ash grabbed the wood and some rope before walking from the site, unbeknown that Pikachu and Staravia were flying overhead to find their distraught master.

("There he is!") the bird cawed. Pikachu found him carrying the wood and rope as he stepped away.

("Why is he holding wood?") squeaked the mouse. He continued down the street when Rally's Mustang pulled up, the driver being the young woman herself.

"What's with the plywood, young man?" she asked. The ultimate face of depression, Ash glanced at Rally.

"Crosses," he pointed out. She remembered the story from after the rescue of Kari and the original Savers.

"Hop in. I'll take you somewhere where you can honor them." Taking the offer, Ash jumped in her ride. He was too occupied about Kuriko's death to ask about Becky and May. Pikachu and Staravia flew overhead to see where Rally carried Ash. A 13-minute drive later, Rally braked at a clever spot: a yard-like lot full of makeshift crosses and crucifixes. Confirming, Staravia flew back. Ash stabbed the ground with one piece of wood then put another piece of wood to tie around. Once tied down, Rally tossed him a marker to which he wrote the names on the wood parallel to the ground.

KURIKO KAZETSUBAKI  
QUEEN BERYL

Once on, Ash handed the marker back to Rally before praying. Pikachu and Staravia returned to the shelter where Ruby, Edward and Kari waited.

"Any luck?" wondered Edward. Staravia cawed to say that they found him.

"He didn't need to run off like that," Kari murmured. "We all know he's in pain from the loss but-" Ruby palmed Kari's head, interrupting her grief.

"No one knows how to react to someone passing away until it happens," she eased. "I like Ash as well. I don't downright love him." A faint smile emerged from the brunette.

"If I was a betting man, someone can lighten his shoulders," Edward pondered. "Kari, Ruby, why don't you two find him and keep him company?" The girls looked at each other before nodding. At Central Park, Ash got out of the Mustang.

"So are you heading back to Chicago soon?" he asked.

"Maybe in a couple of days, but we're staying since Koenma wanted to honor us, as well as your other friends," she explained. "Are you sure you'll be alright alone?" Ash nodded to the question, allowing Rally to hop back in her car and drive off. Ash wandered in the park for sometime before he found a bench to sit on. He sat on the wooden bench and slumped over, his arms holding him up while resting on his knees. To him, everything he did to save the world felt moot compared to Kuriko's loss and inability to avenge it on Beryl. People and dogs passed Ash without curiosity or concern. Two black teens saw Ash and came over.

"Isn't this the same kid flying overhead a couple of nights ago?" one dark brunette girl thought, wearing a black blouse and sweat pants.

"Maybe," the other brunette girl, sporting a red spring jacket and tight pants, took her guess. The first teen snagged and softly shook Ash's shoulder to see if he's awake.

"Kid?" Feeling the shake, Ash look up. The second teen nodded, her copy of USA Today in her hands.

"Yep, we found him: Mister Flying Boy, the one who stopped the horde of death." As pleasing it was to hear, all Ash did was moan. This trouble both girls as Kari, Ruby and Pikachu finally arrived thanks to Staravia flying overhead.

"What's the matter, kid? You saved everyone that night!" Not to Ash's body posture.

"Did I?" he finally spoke. Hearing the confession, the teens wondered who died that night if everyone in the papers said all survived. "I had a close friend sacrifice herself to protect me. If not for her, I wouldn't have been able to stop Damien." The teens were taken back with the trainer's truth.

"I-I'm sorry to hear that, little man," the second teen apologized. "She must have been real close to you, like a sister." A soft nod was Ash's reaction. She hugged him for a few seconds. "Well, stay strong, dawg." Both girls departed as Edward, Ruby and Kari came forward. Ruby patted Kari on the back to tell her this was her chance.

"How are you holding up?" she asked. A pause between the two as Ash wondered if he wanted to answer.

"Trying to..." he muttered under his breath. It was just quiet enough that Kari still heard him. She bent her knees to meet Ash's face.

"I never had a chance to thank you for rescuing me from Beryl's clutches... and I'm sorry about what happened to Kuriko. She meant a lot to you, huh?" Ash closed his eyes and teared up, a sad sniffle followed. Kari couldn't hold back on how she felt about the person who heard her voice and rescued her. "Come here." She embraced Ash in a hug while Pikachu watched from Ruby's shoulder. "It's okay. You can cry." Ash let out small whimpers as tears transferred from his face to her shoulder.

"Poor boy," moaned Ruby. "He did everything he could and yet something denies him of his happiness." That's when Pikachu turned to see a crowd gathering around the four.

("Now what?") he squeaked in concern. Perhaps those teens from before spread word about Ash being in Central Park. Ash and Kari noticed the crowd of hundreds gathering. It seemed they saw the papers or another mean of discovery. No one moved.

"Don't tell me they're here to see if Ash can still fly," Edward feared.

"I hope not," Ruby muttered. Kari slid behind Ash if this became a mob who wanted to attack him. Finally, one little blond girl in a magenta t-shirt and shorts ran from the handle of another woman, supposedly her mother, and met Ash.

"Paige, come back here!" shouted the woman. When Paige reached Ash, he and Kari knelt to her level where she saw the stain on his face.

"Were you crying?" she asked as Pikachu got to Ash's side.

"I was," he answered, a sniffle following.

"Why?"

"Someone close to him was taken away," Kari replied, trying not to scare Paige. The woman heard Kari, realizing that Ash was dealing with a huge loss in his life. Paige didn't like being treated as someone who didn't understand a person simply "leaving."

"I'm a big girl. I can take it." Not sure whether or not to believe her, they glanced to each other before they chose to come clean.

"She died helping him save the world. That's why he's crying." Paige felt bad for Ash and hugged him.

"Can I say thank you?" The question has Ash thinking to the headlines still bringing up his battle.

"For what?" he wondered.

"For saving me and my mom from those flying hooded things." The honor to Ash now began and this little girl kicked it off.

"Of course." Before he could stand up, someone in the crowd began to clap, then a few more before a huge amount of applause echoed throughout the park. Ash stood in awe, amazed at the support received from the crowd.

"How about that?" giggled Ruby while Paige got an opportunity to pet Pikachu. Paige's mother came up and gave him a handshake and hug. Kari got close to Ash, willing to offer something else.

"I know I can't replace or bring Kuriko back to life," she committed. "I want to help you in recovering from your tragedy." Ash offered a smile to Kari's request.

"It would help me with what's happened," he teared some more. "Thank you." Suddenly, screams. The Savers, Kari and Pikachu turned to smoke billowing from the back of the crowd. Ash cringed at what trouble came forward. "Now what?!" Laughter followed.

"Listen, is that the twerp's curiosity I hear?" voiced Jessie as she and her team appeared in a hot-air balloon which was shaped like the cat's head.

"I could hear it, loud and clear!" the blue-haired chimed in.

"On the wind..."

"…Pass the stars..."

"...And in your ears!" mewed their cat.

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace," Jessie continued.

"Dashing cheer, putting fear in its place," the blue-haired added.

"A rose by any other name is just as sweet."

"And when everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Jessie…"

"And James!"

"And Meowth, how's dat for a name?" the cat identified itself.

"Putting the do-gooders in their place..." Jessie still mouthed off.

"We're Team Rocket!" proclaimed James.

"And we're in your face!" all three finished. Ash groaned at their arrival while everyone else looked on in confusion. Who could blame them?

"Team Rocket?" repeated Paige.

"Those three follow me just to get my Pikachu," he summarized. Kari's eyebrow lifted a little from the briefing.

"They're from where you, Zoey and the Pokémon are from?" she guessed. Ash fluffed a nod. "I've heard of following to the ends of the earth but they took it beyond the obvious." Paige's mother stepped by her daughter and the others, facing the balloon and the trio.

"Leave him alone!" she scolded. "He's grieving!" James gulped at hearing the mother's study. Jessie remained indifferent.

"I don't care if the twerp's mommy died," she nagged. "We still want Pikachu!" The audacity of her fueled anger among the crowd, furious at how she would belittle a child in a moment of suffering. "All of you should shut up! We'll leave you after you hand Pikachu over!" Ruby heard enough and got to her teammate's side.

"Mind if I deflate them?" she offered. Ash, Kari, Paige and her mother shook no. Ruby brought out her scythe and converted to the rifle that shot Jadeite days ago. To Edward, that rifle wasn't going to be enough.

"You might need a little more firepower," he suggested as he clapped his hands before palming the ground. Electric sparks emanated before a giant cannon appeared, aiming at the balloon. "...And with one pull..." He yanked the rope which fired a bomb from the barrel. The bomb dipped, missing the fabric of the balloon but not the burner. KABOOM! The bomb blasted the balloon to pieces, the basket carrying the trio fell to the grass. The crowd gathered around the basket, ready to give these three a beating.

"You know, our prisons enjoy people who would hurt children," a bald black man having a goatee with impressive muscles mocked.

"NYPD will be here after we give you our opinion of your actions," a raven-haired white man expressed before they started a gang-beating while everyone else stood back. The other Savers and friends made it to the site but to Sakura and Weiss, their timing couldn't be worse. Kari came to Ash and when he bobbed once more, they engaged in a cute kiss. Weiss and Sakura freaked at the sight.

"How dare she!" they snapped just as they made their way to the two… only to be stopped by Erza and Zoey.

"You two need to know what love is all about before you make your chase to the significant," Erza taught.

"Besides, you two are in another league compared to how to treat someone like Ash," Zoey confirmed. Ash was well on his way to normalcy thanks to Kari. The original Saver and Ruby's friend whined that they lost to someone who knew how to treat someone coping with a loss as it appeared. To say Ash had been through a lot was an understatement. After New York's finest came and arrested Jessie and James, and putting Meowth in a kennel someone from their department carried, New York could rest easy thanks to their savior as he thanked the person thanking him.

* * *

TO BE CONCLUDED...


	12. A Saver Belonging to All-Time

_Chapter 12/Final: A Saver Belonging to All-Time_

* * *

The new day… Ash's day would be the brightest since returning to New York City. Everything around the trainer had the ups and downs. After everything over the week, he could finally relax and not let the loss of Kuriko be a burden. He, Pikachu and Kari rode in a limousine to a destination within Manhattan. Lari saw Ash's smile, a sign of his emotions. "Is this your first baseball game?" asked Kari with Pikachu sleeping on her lap.

"A lot of firsts for me," he admitted. "Especially getting the nod to throw the Ceremonial First Pitch." For the young man who saved practically the Earth's population, he's significantly bashful. The only people he couldn't save were the homeless people just after Damien resurrected Beryl and sent her minions to cause chaos before he arrived to quell the violence and, of course, Kuriko Kazetsubaki. "I never thought with everything that occurred… not to mention at least four girls bidding for my hand. I wished Brock's Croagunk was with me the entire time, knowing how much Brock makes his approach on any girl he sees, especially to Erza and Weiss."

"I know. I'd prefer you over Davis or TK. Not that I hate TK, Gatomon and I want to just be friends with him and Patamon." Ash believed Kari's claim. "Does it still hurt?" To Ash, Kari was asking about losing Kuriko.

"It'll linger for sometime. The Aoi Academy will know of her passing and there's gonna be a lot of heartbreak and sadness." Unfortunately, that wasn't Kari's topic.

"I meant if you were still in pain after that fight with Damien." Ash quickly had a quick turnabout from emotional to physical discussion.

"That? I'm fine." As the limousine traveled to Yankee Stadium, the rest of the Savers and their support were on their way underground to see Illpalazzo for their own ceremony. Just before they left, Rin and Rally watched some television, mostly on the news. Suddenly, the two caught something that surprised both.

"The heck!" sounded Rally, prompting Edward and Renji to see what the shock was about. As the first Saver and Soul Reaper arrived, there was an image of what appeared to be an older, muscular Ash. He wore a red baseball cap like Ash but with a black vest over a white t-shirt with the sleeves ripped out and jeans missing cloth over the kneecaps. By this man wasn't a mouse but a large Bengal tiger. Then a new character which seemed like Chad at first. This grown man wore a vest over a compilation of a rock hard chest and torso. The third looked like a scrawny Gray in a white robe and black tennis shoes. The last seemed like Ruby wearing a hood over her head and wielding a scythe. The only difference was that the hooded scythe-wielder wore stiletto heels instead of boots like Ruby wore.

"What the hell?!" shrieked Edward.

"Coming next Spring," a voice prepared on TV. "Four great warriors defend the city from demons, aliens and criminal masterminds as… 'Savers United!' Ashford Kellum, the Beast Whisperer; Grayson Farhen, famed Cryomancer; Cobain Samson, Herculean power; and Violet Reaves, the stealth hunter. 'Savers United' next spring on Cartoon Network!" These were gross representations of Ash, Edward, Ruby and Chad. To Sakura, some of them were left out.

"What about me?!" she yelled. "Or Edward or Rin?! Don't we count?!" Rin had a theory of why the originals weren't brought up.

"Perhaps it's considered that we were inactive once they learned from witnesses over in New Jersey," she speculated. Sakura groaned at the thought of how the originals became omitted.

"And we _were_ practically fugitives after we escaped jail," Edward added. "It's possible those reasons are why we're not included." All Sakura could do was groan.

"It's not fair..." she whimpered. "And now Ash is hanging out with that little tramp." Adding to the frustration was Weiss.

"You weren't worth Ash's time, ninja girl!" she snarled. "It shouldn't even be worth _her_ time as well." Sakura heard the white-haired lass, stomping over to her face the second beau of Ash.

"Like you're one to talk about it, Snow White!" The sounds of a potential catfight brought Erza and Rally to separate the huntress and ninja.

"If I'm not mistaken, weren't you two chasing Ash after he lost Kuriko?" questioned Zoey. Both blinked at Zoey's point, overlooking one other.

"So was Kari!" the two snapped back.

"No, Kari wasn't," Rally replied, her face gritting. "She and Ruby only came to console Ash. There's a difference." Weiss and Sakura didn't want to accept that they lost Ash by someone they barely knew.

"For two soon-to-be adults, you need to grow up," Erza burned. Now both cringed at their failures.

"I don't know if the adage should be here," Ichigo thought. Minding, Rin wondered about Ichigo's take.

"Clarify, Kurosaki," she asked.

"'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' A piece of _'In Memoriam Arthur Henry Hallam.'_" To Rin, it didn't quite fit the scenario.

"While I appreciate the History lesson, I highly doubt that stanza fits this situation." The comeback intrigued Ichigo to see what she had to offer.

"Really? Perhaps you have a better quote to use?"

"Perhaps 'Don't look for love, let love find you.' That would fit the issue at hand." Ichigo seemed enticed with Rin's thought compared to his own.

"I see. It does make more sense that way. I think Ash followed that axiom unwillingly and lo and behold..." Rin slowly nodded to Ichigo's understanding, believing Ash not taking Weiss' or Sakura's approaches.

"Kari is an appropriate fit for Ketchum… much better than Kuriko or these two for instance." Sakura and Weiss offered whimpers of anguish at Rin's point of view.

"Rin, that's harsh!" whined Sakura.

"...And I thought Gray offered cold shoulders!" cried Weiss. As everyone left the shelter to see the lord of ACROSS, Ash, Kari and the Pokémon entered Yankee Stadium which barely had a seat to spare.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Yankee Stadium!" the announcer on the PA system greeted. "It's a beautiful day as Major League Baseball presents today's contest between the Kansas City Royals… and your New York Yankees!" The crowd erupted in cheering for their home team as Ash, his Pokémon and Kari hanged out with staff in blue polo t-shirts with the same "NY" logos which also were on the players in white with blue vertical pinstripes. "Now everyone… Please stand, remove your hats and face our nation's Stars and Stripes as the US Navy's united marching band will play the Star Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States of America." As the drums pound through the stadium, the staff wanted to update Ash on the schedule.

"So after the lineups are announced, you'll head to the mound where you're throwing to Derek," she pointed. "Now, I know this little plant… turtle… thing can't really throw but-"

"My Pokémon aren't throwing," Ash clarified. "I wanted to give them a feeling about what a stadium will be like at the end of my trip back in my home world." The member sensed the idea from Ash.

"I gotcha. Well, I'll let you do your pep talk and be back to get you on the field." She walked off and allowed Kari to join Ash's side.

"What do you mean by the end?" she asked.

"Currently, I have three badges," Ash started. "Once I get eight badges within the region like right now in Sinnoh, I can enter the Pokémon League tournament." Kari looked interested with his upcoming tourney. As the lineup got to the starting pitchers, the staff member summoned Ash. He, his Pokémon and Kari soon came out of the dugout but stopped at the top step by the member's hand. The field had the pinstripes down the first base line while another team in powder blue with "KANSAS CITY" on their uniforms and "KC" on their blue caps lined the third base line.

"And now, it's time for the Ceremonial First Pitch," the announcer voiced over the PA system. "Throwing it is the young man known for saving the world from the enemies that have terrorized not just the United States but all over the world. He can fly but we brought him here to throw. Here he is… Ash Ketchum!" The crowd roared, the teams applauded and one white uniform with a "2" on his back stepped behind home plate. The Pokémon felt overwhelmed with the capacity crowd honoring their trainer. Ash hopped on the mound, facing down the player.

"Hey, Derek! You don't mind if I do my signature throw?"

"Go ahead, kid!" he accepted. Ash reached the bill of his new navy blue cap before twisting it fully around with his left hand. He cocked back his right hand holding the ball.

"Baseball, go!" He chucked the ball which found the open glove worn by Derek. Down the pipe, Derek caught the ball flying over the middle of home plate.

"Strike!" the announcer ruled. After the pitch, Ash, Kari, Derek and the Pokémon met between the mound and home plate where photographers and other media assembled to take pictures and video of the moment. "Let's give one more round of applause to Ash Ketchum, the youngest defender of humanity!" After the photo opportunity, staff directed the couple and the Pokémon to reserved seats aside the visiting Royals' dugout, getting fives from the Kansas City team. Back over to the rest of the Savers, they met up with Koenma, Botan, Yukina, Yusuke and Illpalazzo. Ruby gave Yukina the watch back, knowing that the item was no longer necessary in their hands.

"Once again, the crisis that threatened all that humanity stood for has fallen," Koenma began. "To summon you for this quest, many people from different cultures to stop the chaos and rescue the heroes of the yester. First, let me honor the aides who supported the cause. Erza Scarlet, Weiss Schnee, Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abari, Zoey Norh, Irene Vincent, May Hopkins and Rebecca Farrah… the actions to help preserve the safety was made possible by you. That's why I hereby give you titles of honorary Spirit Detectives, vanquishers of evil and protectors of the innocent. The same will go to the three elected prior to uniting this squad: Yasutora Sado, Ruby Rose and Gray Fullbuster. The title of Battling Time Savers will forever be a part of your lives." The original Savers stepped forward and shook hands with their backups: Ed and Gray, Rin and Ruby, and Sakura and Chad. Botan came to Rin's side, still upset with the known death.

"Rin, regardless of your feelings about her," she opened. "I still want to apologize and send my condolences to you, as well as Kuriko's friends and family back near the Aoi Academy." Rin nodded to Botan's offer of grief.

"I'd rather not receive the grief of those who only become a thorn in your life," she coldly argued. "However, I'll be the messenger to tell the Kazetsubaki clan about her passing… as well as Shikimori, Yuna and Chihaya. After all, we were responsible for Shikimori's reseurrection." Botan patted Rin on the shoulder for support. Yusuke and Yukina came over to Edward with a bit of interest about how he appeared.

"So what happened to you, Ed?" the raven-haired pondered. "Wasn't there suppose to be auto-mail on your arm?" Edward pulled the sleeve of his right arm, showing nothing but skin.

"Long story short, Al and I found the Philosopher's Stone," he summarized. "My right arm and left leg are now human and Al has his body back." This was great news to hear, except it troubled Yukina.

"But what about your ability to use alchemy?" she asked.

"Not a problem. Al and I have been performing alchemy before we attempted that forbidden transmutation to bring our mother back from death. How ironic that the one who could bring back someone from the grave did it for his own gain?" Words couldn't express the frustration enough. As day turned to night, Ash, Kari and Pikachu had fun at Yankee Stadium and chose to visit an new landmark: the Statue of Liberty on Coney Island. Arriving at the head, the three came to the opening facing New York as the sun neared its descent. The awe showed with the humans and Pikachu.

"What a view!" he laughed. Pikachu agreed, taking the sight in great deal.

"I can only imagine the landscape with the twin towers standing," Kari pictured. That's when Pikachu glared to the right, finding Giants Stadium.

("There's the stadium!") he pointed out. Both kids turned and found Giants Stadium.

"Hey, that's East Rutherford!" noticed Ash.

"One of the great parts about the Statue of Liberty is that it looks over New York _and_ New Jersey," Kari described. Talk about exciting for the trainer.

"That is so cool." While Ash and Pikachu idolized the view, Kari couldn't help but stand next to the boy who saved her from Beryl.

"Ash, maybe there can be a time when I could see where you're from, let alone everywhere you've been so that I understand what you do when you're not Pokémon training." Ash scoffed at Kari's request, believing she wanted to know more of the journeying trainer.

"I think I can arrange that. Though I would need to make sure with Illpalazzo and Prince Koenma." Kari understood the issue, thinking he wasn't in charge of the charade that led him and his teams through many lands and times. "Of course, I would like to meet Gatomon now that you mentioned her."

"Yeah, I think Gatomon and Pikachu would get along just fine… like you and me." Both stood side-by-side, hands linked as they faced the city. These two don't want to break the new bond forged. Before long…

"We hope your date's going good!" teased Ichigo. All three of them turned to see the rest of the crew arriving to see the pair. Knowing of their presence here, Ash figured everyone had been inducted.

"So I take it everyone's in the Savers' Hall of Fame?" he guessed. Zoey reached the pair and Ash gave her a high-five.

"Yep," she replied. "And I didn't know May was an honorary Saver herself." Ash knew the May that Zoey mentioned wasn't Hopkins.

"Now that you brought that up, she still has Ed on her mind." Edward huffed a chuckle, bemused at the comment.

"Well, that makes two of us," he joked before he, Ruby, Sakura, Rin, Chad and Gray met in the middle of the room.

"Ketchum, I would want you to join me in spreading the tragedy to the Aoi Academy," she offered.

"I wanted to ask you about it but I guess we have the same message we need to report," Ash confessed. Rin acknowledged his thought process.

"Well, even though Weiss and I loss to Kari, there's still Naruto," Sakura expressed her disappointment. Gray patted the pink-haired for comfort.

"It's better not to think about it," he advised. "Soon, we'll all be back home and living our normal lives… until a new threat to New York or wherever it'll strike."

"So what?!" scoffed Ruby. "There's seven Time Savers, 13 supports and a lot of firepower. What more do we need?" If there's a question not to ask upon timing, the huntress-in-training found one.

"How about me?" asked Kari. The Savers heard the brunette and turned to her. "You know, as a support. I doubt 13 is a good number to have, right?" No one could find a proper response to Kari's request to volunteer.

"Are you sure, Kari?" wondered Chad. To Kari, everything about the recent adventure started with her.

"This whole mess is one I got involved in and someone died because. If it means anything, I want to take Kuriko's spot and help everyone." Her words started to sink in for the Savers. Ruby decided for the group, one she felt was right.

"We could all use some of your help," she greeted to the team. Ichigo, Erza and Becky came to welcome the new addition to the Savers' support group. That's when everyone stood at the opening of the crown, gazing to New York.

"What a week out here in the Big Apple," Becky sighed. "I'm just glad it's all over and we can _finally_ go back to Chicago."

"Or Fiore, Resembool, Aoi, Beacon, Soul Society, Hidden Leaf or Veilstone City," Erza listed. Time for the group of heroes neared closing.

"Yeah…" Ash huffed. "But let's enjoy New York while we can. It's not everyday we can sit back and love the scenery." Ash knew he had a long road ahead, not just due to training his Pokémon. Kuriko's passing will linger for sometime. However, he could no longer feel alone as Kari became part of his new life. A power growing stronger if a new evil was ready to strike. As well, he had new support in addition to new teammates. The city of New York has guardian angels: Ash Ketchum, Sakura Haruno, Edward Elric, Rin Kamishiro, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Yasutora "Chad" Sado, Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abari, Zoey Norh, Irene "Rally" Vincent, "Minnie" May Hopkins, Rebecca Farrah and Kari Kamiya. If a new threat does appear, the Battling Time Savers will fight to…

* * *

...THE END  
(Yes, Zoey's last name doesn't exist but I thought it would be a nice touch.)


End file.
